> NOVELS* 


THEIR 
ARRIAGEBOND 


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THE 

ALBATROSS  NOVELS 

By  ALBERT  ROSS 

23  Volumes 

May  be  had  wherever  book*  are  sold  at  the  price  you 
paid  for  this  volume 

Black  Adonis,  A 
Garston  Bigamy,  The 
Her  Husband's  Friend 
His  Foster  Sister 
His  Private  Character 
In  Stella's  Shadow 
Love  at  Seventy 
Love  Gone  Astray 
Moulding  a  Maiden. 
Naked  Truth,  The 
New  Sensation,  A 
Original  Shiner,  An 
Out  of  Wedlock 
Speaking  of  Ellen 
Stranger  Than  Fiction 
Sugar  Princess,  A 
That  Gay  Deceiver 
Their  Marriage  Bond 
Thou  Shalt  Not 
Thy  Neighbor's  Wife 
Why  I'm  Single 
Young  Fawcett's  Mabel 
Young  Miss  Giddy 

G.  W.  DILLINGH AM  CO. 
Publishers  ::  ::  New  York 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND, 


BY  ALBERT  Ross. 


AUTHOR  OF 

u  His  FOSTER  SISTER,"   "  SPEAKING   OF   ELLIN," 

«THOU   SHALT   NOT,"   "WHY   I'M   SINGLE," 

"  His  PRIVATE  CHARACTER."  ETC. 


NEW    YORK: 

COPYRIGHT,  1817,  tf 

G.     W.    Dillingham    Co.,    Publishers. 

[All  rights  reserved.} 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTXK  'AGE 

I.  A  Contemplated  Union         .  .  .11. 

II.  Ida  Strokes  the  Kitten          .  .  .     23 

III.  "You  know  my  wishes"        .  .  .34 

IV.  Margaret  Refuses  to  Listen  .  .  .44 
V.  "  Then  I  must  live  single  "   .  .  .56 

VI.  The  Dangers  of  London      .  .  .64 

VII.  Gordon  occupies  his  Time  .  .     73 

VIII.  "  Kiss  me,  Kingdon  !"          ...     82 

IX.  Two  Rooms  Connecting        .  .  .91 

X.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor    .        .  .  .100 

XL  "Come  and  let  us  talk"       .  .  .106 

XII.  Lost  in  New  York         .        .  .  .113 

XIII.  "You  are  a  sick  man"           .  .  .122 

XIV.  Mrs.  Bruce's  Advice      .        .  .  .129 
XV.  Ida  Warned 140 

XVI.  Matrimonial  Perjuries    ....  150 

XVII.  «  What  do  you  expect  ?"  161 

XVIII.  The  Angel  of  Death       .        .  .  .172 

XIX.  Watching  for  his  Prey  .        .  .  .182 

XX.  A  Few  Little  Lies           .        .  .  .191 

XXI.  Sidney  Brooks  Takes  a  Hand  .  .  200 

XXII.  "  Whom  does  he  resemble?"  .  .208 

XXIII.  A  Face  in  the  Elevator          •  .  .219 

u 

2061938 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  FAGK 

XXIV.  In  the  Lawyer's  Office             .  .  .231 

XXV.  "It's  not  a  case  of  love"        .  .  .237 

XXVI.  "Whose  child  is  that?"          .  .  .246 

XXVII.  Ida  Roused  to  Anger      .        .  .  .256 

XXVIII.  "That  is  amusing,  my  dear!"  .  .264 

XXIX.  The  Two  Wives  Meet     .         .  .  .274 

XXX.  "  When  did  you  begin  to  love    me  ?"  .  284 


TO  MY  READERS. 


Since  the  date  of  the  publication  of  my  last  novel, 
"  His  Foster  Sister,"  the  press  of  the  country  has  been 
extensively  victimized  through  a  bogus  statement  which 
appeared  originally  in  two  of  the  New  York  newspapers 
and  was  telegraphed  far  and  wide  in  all  directions.  Dis- 
patches were  sent  by  Boston  correspondents  to  those 
sheets  in  February,  alleging  that  I  had  become  insane 
and  was  "  confined  in  a  madhouse/'  A  denial,  coupled 
with  physicians'  certificates,  which  I  sent  to  the  press, 
was  printed  in  some  cases,  but  the  original  story  gained 
by  far  the  larger  circulation. 

The  flimsy  basis  of  the  injurious  statement  was  the 
fact  that  I  had  suffered  severely  from  insomnia,  and  had 
placed  myself  under  the  special  care  of  an  expert  phys- 
ician at  his  residence.  Friends  in  many  States  sent 
sympathizing  letters  to  my  family,  who  were  much  dis- 
turbed and  annoyed  at  the  falsehoods.  The  publica- 
tions, which  included  in  one  instance  an  imaginary  por- 
trait of  myself  in  an  insane  state,  with  an  article  by  an 
expert  on  the  causes  of  my  dementia,  greatly  aggravated 
my  symptoms  and  has  undoubtedly  delayed  my  recovery. 
I  am  at  present  getting  back  to  health  very  slowly,  but 
I  think  surely,  and  owing  to  a  habit  of  keeping  my  work 

M 


8  TO  MY  READERS. 

•well  ahead,  I  am  able  to  give  you  my  usual  July  novel  in 
time. 

You  will  notice  that  I  have  returned  in  the  present  in- 
stance to  a  discussion  of  those  relations  between  men  and 
women  which  make  a  very  large  share  of  the  troubles  of 
the  world.  I  intend  to  emphasize  the  folly  of  com- 
pelling marriage  between  unwilling  people,  and  also  to 
ehow  once  more  the  inevitable  suffering  which  is  certain 
to  follow  infringements  of  the  moral  law.  For,  although 
my  hero  and  heroine  outlive  their  transgressions,  the  ex- 
periences through  which  they  pass  will  not  encourage 
any  one  to  tread  in  their  footsteps.  I  have  also  en- 
deavored to  give  due  compensation  to  the  wronged  ones, 
who  suffered  from  no  fault  of  their  own. 

Neither  writers  nor  readers  are  likely  to  agree  as  to 
the  kind  of  novel  that  is  most  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive, but  I  see  no  reason  to  make  any  permanent  change 
in  my  own  methods.  I  have  failed  utterly  to  find  enter- 
tainment in  the  new  style  of  romance  which  deals  with 
frequent  broadsword  combats  and  wearisome  confine- 
ments of  military  gentlemen  in  pitch-dark  dungeons.  I 
am  even  impervious  to  the  delights  of  tales  wherein  pri- 
vate persons  are  mistaken  for  sovereigns  of  foreign  coun- 
tries, on  account  of  red  hair  brought  into  their  families 
through  the  fault  of  their  grandmothers.  The  every- 
day affairs  of  common  life  are  enough  for  me,  and  the 
language  of  the  present  hour  is  more  pleasing  to  my  ear 
than  the  mixture  of  fifteenth  century  English  and  boule- 
vard French  which  those  impossible  cavaliers  present. 

The  handsome,  complete  edition  in  cloth  binding, 
which  my  publishers  have  lately  issued,  will  enable  all 
who  wish  to  do  so  to  obtain  my  novels  in  that  form.  The 
constant  demand  for  even  the  very  earliest  ones  indi- 
cates that  they  have  found  a  permanent  place.  I  only 


TO   MY   READERS.  9 

ask  those  critics  who  feel  it  necessary  to  attack  my 
stories  violently  to  read  at  least  a  portion  of  some  volume 
before  they  sharpen  their  stilettos;  and  to  those  who 
have  so  often  given  me  more  praise  than  I  deserve,  I 
eay,  credit  me  with  the  intention  and  desire  of  entertain- 
ing and  benefiting  my  readers,  and  I  shall  be  content. 

At  this  date  I  am  convalescing,  but  unable  to  do  much 
work.  To  those  who  have  sent  expressions  of  sympathy 
I  return  heartfelt  thanks.  It  is  much  to  know  that  so 
many  whom  I  have  never  met  were  induced  to  send 
messages  of  condolence  to  my  loved  ones,  when  they  sup- 
posed me  beyond  the  reach  of  their  words.  When  I  am 
sufficiently  recovered  I  shall  be  impelled  to  renewed 
efforts  to  please  my  million  readers,  who  have  been  so 
steadfast  and  loyal  to  me. 

ALBERT  ROSS. 

Cambridge,  Mass.,  May,  1897. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A  CONTEMPLATED  UNION. 

The  handsome,  old-fashioned  parlors  of  Mrs.  Walden 
Bruce,  at  Newton,  near  Boston,  were  filled  with  a  happy 
company.  Mrs.  Bruce  had  heen  a  resident  of  the  town 
for  many  years,  and  invitations  to  her  "evenings"  were 
held  in  high  esteem  by  residents  for  many  miles  around. 
The  people  one  was  likely  to  meet  there  were  seldom 
either  snobs  or  lions,  but  were  selected  with  the  idea  of 
making  a  cheerful  group  capable  of  imparting  pleasure 
to  each  other  and  insuring  occasions  where  the  danger  of 
being  bored  was  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

Mrs.  Bruce,  though  hardly  yet  out  of  the  thirties,  had 
been  long  a  widow.  At  the  moment  when  our  story 
opens  she  was  standing,  with  her  handsome  daughter,  in 
the  centre  of  an  animated  circle  engaged  in  conversation. 
Though  still  so  young,  she  had  an  abundance  of  silvery 
hair,  which  she  had  never  taken  any  pains  to  conceal. 


12  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

She  was  of  matronly  build,  with  a  good  color,  a  bright 
pair  of  dark  eyes  and  a  charming  expression  of  counte- 
nance. In  her  dress  she  was  tasteful,  but  simple.  She 
was  not  a  believer  in  the  school  which  throws  a  young 
woman  back  into  the  frivolities  of  youth  merely  because 
she  happens  to  be  bereft  of  her  husband.  Neither 
did  she  think  it  seemly  to  parade  her  loss  on  all  possible 
occasions,  though  she  felt  the  blow  keenly.  She  had 
steered,  with  great  discernment,  between  the  perpetual 
black  crape  and  veil  that  make  one  shudder  at  a  certain 
species  of  woman  and  the  frivolous  actions  of  another 
variety  which  becomes  a  sort  of  ballet  dancer  for  the 
delectation  of  the  rising  generation.  She  was  reputed 
possessed  of  a  fair  fortune,  and  the  estate  on  which  her 
residence  was  situated  was  a  beautiful  old  place,  com- 
prising many  acres,  which  seemed  destined,  with  the 
growth  of  Boston,  to  be  very  valuable  at  some  time  in  the 
future. 

Miss  Ida  Bruce,  the  only  daughter  of  the  lady,  then  in 
her  nineteenth  year,  was  unquestionably  the  fairest  ob- 
ject among  the  many  good-looking  women  present. 
Plump  without  being  stout,  a  little  above  the  average  in 
height,  with  a  lovely  complexion,  and  an  abundance  of 
fair  hair  arranged  with  exquisite  taste,  she  was  as  pretty 
a  girl  as  one  might  find  in  a  long  journey.  She  was 
gowned  most  becomingly,  and  her  manners  were  a  happy 
medium  between  the  simpering  ways  of  the  grammar- 
•chool  graduate  and  the  airy  pretensions  that  so  many  of 
her  sex  think  it  best  to  affect. 

"Simply  charming!'5  was  the  expression  of  all  the  men 
who  saw  her;  and  the  same  verdict  was  wrung  unwilling- 
ly from  the  lips  of  many  women  whose  envious  eyes 
wandered  over  the  beautiful  picture. 

"Oh,  there's  no  denying  that  Ida  Bruce  is  pretty!" 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  13 

ihey  would  say,  in  despair.  "And  I  wonder  who  taught 
her  to  dress  with  such  perfection.  I  never  saw  her  when 
she  wasn't  a  model  for  a  costumer,  though  I  don't  be- 
lieve she  spends  any  more  on  her  clothes  than  hundreds 
who  can't  approach  them  in  effect." 

Two  young  men  stood  on  opposite  sides  of  the  room 
from  Mrs.  Bruce  and  her  daughter,  eying  them  as  closely 
as  was  consistent  with  good  breeding,  between  the 
pauses  in  the  conversation  they  were  having. 

"How  wondrously  beautiful  Ida  is  to-night!"  said  one 
of  them,  whose  name  was  Carroll  Thorpe,  as  if  the  ex- 
pression was  forced  from  him  in  spite  of  himself. 

Gordon  Hayne,  to  whom  the  remark  was  addressed, 
did  not  take  his  gaze  from  the  object  of  its  apostrophe. 

"She  is,  on  the  whole,  the  finest  girl  of  her  age  I  ever 
saw,"  he  responded,  in  a  low  tone. 

"She  would  be  proud  to  know  that  you  said  so,"  re- 
plied Carroll,  with  a  laugh.  "I  believe  you  are  consid- 
ered the  best  judge  in  the  State.  Feminine  beauty,  ac- 
cording to  all  accounts,  is  one  of  your  specialties." 

Hayne  reddened,  as  if  he  did  not  like  the  intended 
compliment  in  this  connection. 

"I  wonder  on  what  the  gossips  base  their  informa- 
tion," he  said,  with  a  shade  of  coldness.  "I  know  well 
enough  that  my  name  gets  mixed  up  in  half  the  scandals 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Boston;  and  yet,  nine  times 
out  of  ten,  there's  not  the  faintest  excuse  for  the  talk. 
Perhaps  the  reason  is  that  I  have  a  sharp  eye  and  a  quick 
ear.  Nothing  entertains  me  more  than  an  interesting 
woman  who  has  begun  to  take  the  bit  in  her  teeth.  I 
like  to  know  one  of  that  sort,  to  converse  with  her,  to 
litter  veiled  allusions  and  watch  the  effect,  even  to  widen 
somewhat  the  scope  of  her  imagination.  But  to  lay 
every  faux  pas  to  me  is  a  gross  injustice,  not  only  to 


H  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

myself,  but  to  others  who  boast  of  their  'conquests'  and 
are  cheated  out  of  the  'credit'  that  properly  belongs  to 
them." 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  ironical  vein  in  which  the 
closing  words  were  uttered. 

"I  have  evidently  fallen  into  the  popular  error/' 
smiled  Thorpe.  "I  should  have  said  that  your  shoulders 
were  broad  enough  to  carry  all  the  weight  piled  on  them. 
Still,  if  I  were  put  on  the  stand,  I  can't  recollect  a  single 
bit  of  proof  in  any  case.  It  has  puzzled  me  a  little,  too, 
that  I  never  heard  you  speak  slightingly  of  a  woman." 

The  aquiline  nostrils  of  Mr.  Hayne  distended.  He 
talked  in  a  very  low  voice,  though  in  the  hubbub  shout 
him  an  ordinary  tone  would  have  served  to  confine  his 
remarks  to  the  ears  for  which  they  were  intended.  Dur- 
ing the  entire  time  his  eyes  remained  fixed,  as  if  fas- 
cinated, upon  the  figure  of  the  pretty  girl  across  the 
room. 

"There  are  two  kinds  of  women,"  he  said,  impressive- 
ly, "against  whom  no  decent  man  will  insinuate  any- 
thing. One  class  is  composed  of  those  about  whose  lapses 
he  could  testify  if  he  liked;  the  other  class  is  composed 
of  those  of  whose  shortcomings  he  knows  nothing." 

Carroll  Thorpe  smiled  broadly. 

"That's  sweeping,"  he  said.  "You  mean  that  women 
should,  under  all  circumstances,  be  exempt  from  criti- 
cism." 

Mr.  Hayne  nodded. 

"A  woman  should  have  the  privilege,  with  men,  of 
passing  for  what  she  pleases  to  appear." 

"It  is  a  pity  members  of  their  own  sex  are  not  so 
magnanimous,"  suggested  Thorpe. 

"The  greatest  of  pities,"  replied  Hayne.  "Ah!"  he 
added,  'Tic-re  cvines  Brooke  *' 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND.  15 

The  gentleman  named  was  slowly  making  his  way  to- 
ward the  pair.  He  was  a  little  older  than  the  other  two, 
who  were  perhaps  twenty-three  or  twenty-four,  of  slen- 
der build  and  with  the  sloping  shoulders  often  associated 
with  the  idea  of  a  student.  Although  his  face  was  rather 
pale,  however,  he  gave  the  impression  of  possessing  the 
normal  amount  of  strength  and  of  being  a  man  of  force 
and  determination.  His  countenance  bore  lines  of  care 
already,  as  if  he  had  found  life  a  serious  matter,  and 
showed  a  vivid  contrast  to  both  the  others,  who  gave 
equal  evidence  of  having  passed  their  youth  in  content- 
ment and  ease.  His  garments  were  as  plain  as  possible, 
he  eschewed  jewelry  almost  entirely,  and  he  had  a  hesi- 
tation in  speech  that  reminded  one  of  an  immature  girl. 

Most  strangers,  if  invited  to  guess,  would  have  set  him 
down  as  an  embryo  clergyman,  or  at  least  a  seminary 
professor.  But  he  was  in  reality  a  lawyer,  who  was  al- 
ready making  a  name  at  the  bar  and  had  secured  pos- 
session of  a  satisfactory  practice.  He  had  dark  hair, 
which  generally  hung,  by  a  contrariness  of  nature,  half 
across  his  forehead,  and  sombre  eyes  that  could  not  help 
attracting  attention  on  account  of  the  strange,  mys- 
terious quality  that  shone  from  their  depths. 

"Gordon  was  just  saying,"  remarked  Thorpe,  when 
Mr.  Brooks  reached  them,  "that  he  makes  it  a  rule  never 
to  speak  ill  of  a  woman,  whether  he  knows  anything 
about  her  or  not." 

"Oh,  don't  tell  Sidney  of  my  rules!"  exclaimed  Mr. 
Hayne,  impatiently.  "He  doesn't  know  anything  about 
women,  any  way.  What  he  wants  is  to  have  people 
pointed  out  and  named,  and  get  introductions  to  those 
he  doesn't  know." 

Then,  in  a  tone  and  manner  that  showed*  his  liking  for 
the  young  attorney,  he  proceeded  from  where  they  stood 


16  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

to  impart  information  regarding  those  present  whom  his 
friend  had  not  met,  giving  their  names,  mentioning  their 
occupations  and  other  matters  that  he  imagined  might 
be  of  interest. 

"I  think  you  know  every  man  in  Boston  and  vicinity," 
said  Mr.  Brooks,  pleasantly. 

"Well,  I  know  a  good  many;  and  in  a  place  like  thia 
I  make  some  one  tell  me  about  those  I  don't  know.  I'm 
a  little  quicker  than  you  in  some  things,  and  yet  I  sup- 
pose you  could  talk  more  interestingly  to  the  Supreme 
Court  than  I  could." 

Apparently  considering  that  his  friend's  curiosity  was 
confined  mainly  to  the  masculine  sex,  Mr.  Hayne  made 
no  allusions  to  the  women  except  to  utter  such  expres- 
sions as,  "That  lady  next  to  him  is  his  wife/'  or  "That 
elderly  lady  in  gray  is  the  mother  of  the  representative 
in  the  Legislature  from  Brookline." 

A  fourth  gentleman  joined  the  party  at  this  juncture, 
and  was  presented  to  Messrs.  Thorpe  and  Brooks  by  Mr. 
Hayne  as  "Mr.  Nelson,  one  of  the  Boston  Herald  staff, 
whom  you  ought  to  know."  Mr.  Nelson,  who  was  at- 
tending Mrs.  Bruce's  receptions  for  the  first  time,  was 
also  in  search  of  information  and  knew  that  he  h«d 
reached  the  right  place  to  find  it. 

"I  understand  that  the  elderly  gentleman  in  that  cor- 
ner, who  never  leaves  his  chair,  is  Mr.  Edward  Dale,"  he 
remarked,  consulting  his  notebook. 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Hayne.  "And  that  good-looking  fel- 
low on  his  right — the  one  who  was  just  talking  to  Mrs. 
Bruce — is  his  son,  Kingdon  Dale." 

The  man  last  pointed  out  was,  indeed,  a  "good-looking 
fellow."  He  was  a  little  past  his  majority,  tall  enough 
and  exceedingly  well-proportioned.  His  clothes  fitted 
him  to  a  nicety,  ills  hair  was  brown,  with  a  faint  tinge 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  17 

of  red,  and  he  combed  it  in  a  manner  that  was  moet 
becoming.  He  had  a  look  of  good  temper  on  his  fine 
countenance,  mingled  at  the  present  moment  with  a 
tinge  of  anxiety,  which  none  but  a  close  observer  might 
have  been  able  to  note. 

"Is  it  true  that  his  father  has  arranged  with  Mrs. 
Bruce  to  have  him  marry  Ida?"  asked  Carroll  Thorpe, 
with  the  idea  that  Mr.  Nelson  might  be  interested  in  that 
question. 

"I've  heard  so,"  responded  Mr.  Hayne,  clearing  his 
throat  of  something  that  stuck  there.  "You  know  the 
lands  of  the  Bruces  here  in  Newton  join  those  of  the 
Dales,  and  some  people  fancy  the  English  way  of  con- 
necting marriages  with  real  estate  transactions.  Then, 
they've  been  thrown  together  from  childhood.  He's  only 
twenty-two  and  she — " 

There  seemed  nothing  to  cause  the  breaking  off  of  the 
sentence,  but  the  listeners  saw  that  Mr.  Hayne  had  fin- 
ished all  he  meant  to  say  on  the  subject.  He  was  looking 
again  at  Miss  Ida. 

"You  know  young  Mr.  Dale  personally,  I  presume?" 
said  Mr.  Nelson,  when  the  mantel  clock  had  ticked  off 
fifteen  or  twenty  seconds. 

"What,  Kingdon?"  Mr.  Hayne's  face  lit  up.  <<Yes, 
we've  been  intimate  for  years.  We  were  off  at  school  to- 
gether. I  suppose,"  he  added,  reflectively,  "if  you  were 
to  ask  him  for  his  closest  friend,  he  would  mention  my 
name." 

"Then  you  ought  to  know  exactly  what  his  marital 
intentions  are,"  said  Thorpe,  wisely. 

"No.  There  are  things  he  never  speaks  about,  and 
this  is  one  of  them.  I  used  to  hint  about  it,"  he  went 
on,  as  if  talking  to  himself,  "but  it  did  no  good.  Indeed, 
the  first  I  knew  of — of  Miss  Bruce — was  by  seeing  her 


18  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

photograph,  on  his  desk.  He  told  me  her  name,  and 
said  her  family  lived  near  his  home — but  nothing  fur- 
ther. I  renewed  the  subject  more  than  once,  but  made 
no  progress.  He  had  plenty  of  other  pictures  there, 
women  as  well  as  men,  friends,  relations,  all  the  usual 
assortment;  there  was  nothing  to  show  that  he  held  this 
one  in  special  regard.  But,"  the  speaker  drew  a  long 
breath  as  if  he  were  getting  tired,  "I  have  heard  me 
rumors  you  mention,  and  I  think,  very  likely,  they  are 
true." 

Mr.  Nelson  remarked,  with  fervor,  that  in  that  case 
Mr.  Kingdon  Dale  must  be  a  very  happy  man.  Messrs. 
Thorpe  and  Brooks  silently  indicated  that  he  expressed 
their  own  conviction. 

"Mr.  Dale,  Sr.,  looks  in  wretched  health  to-night, 
doesn't  he?"  said  Mr.  Thorpe.  "Kingdon  almost  wor- 
ships his  father,  and  if  you  watch  him  you  will  see  how 
earnestly  and  anxiously  he  gazes  in  that  direction." 

All  the  members  of  the  group  followed  the  suggestion, 
and  soon  had  ocular  proof  that  it  was  true. 

"I  wish  you  would  present  me  to  Kingdon  Dale,"  said 
Mr.  Nelson,  a  moment  later,  to  Mr.  Hayne.  "You  will 
excuse  us,"  he  added  to  the  others  when  Mr.  Hayne  re- 
sponded that  he  would  do  so  with  pleasure. 

Finding  that  the  new  acquaintances  entered  at  once 
into  a  lively  conversation,  Hayne  soon  left  them  together 
and  strolled  about  the  house,  speaking  to  many  persons 
whom  he  knew  and  going  almost  everywhere,  in  fact, 
except  toward  the  spot  where  Mrs.  and  Miss  Bruce  were 
located.  He  paused  to  hear  a  soprano  sing  two  pieces, 
which  were  received  with  general  applause.  He  talked 
politics  for  some  minutes  with  a  party  of  men,  who 
seemed  to  have  an  aversion  to  feminine  society,  or,  per- 
haps, it  was  the  feminine  part  of  the  gathering  that  did 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  19 

not  care  for  them.  So,  going  from  one  set  to  another, 
and  always  finding  himself  welcome,  he  came  gradually 
to  the  chair  occupied  by  the  senior  Mr.  Dale,  and,  find- 
ing another  unoccupied,  sat  down  to  have  a  chat  with 
that  gentleman. 

"A  delightful  party,"  he  said,  affably.  "But,  then, 
Mrs.  Bruce  always  manages  to  have  that." 

Mr.  Dale  nodded  assent. 

"She  does,  indeed,"  said  he.  "My  illness  prevents  my 
enjoying  these  things,  however,  as  you  younger  people 
do.  I  would  go  home,  even  at  this  hour,  except  that  I 
feel  it  a  duty  to  remain.  The  Bruces  have  been  my 
neighbors  for  twenty  years,  you  know,  and  one  owes 
much  to  appearances."  His  eyes  wandered  back  to  the 
place  where  Mrs.  Bruce  and  Ida  were  standing.  "Don't 
you  think  she  looks  remarkably  well  this  evening?"  he 
asked,  abruptly. 

Mr.  Hayne  started. 

"Our  hostess?  Yes.  I  had  noticed  it,"  he  answered, 
obstinately. 

The  elder  Dale  gave  an  impatient  shrug  to  his 
shoulders,  and  winced  at  a  rheumatic  twinge  that  fol- 
lowed the  motion. 

"No,  no!"  he  exclaimed.  "Ida.  She  shines  like  a  star 
of  the  first  magnitude  among  all  the  girls  around  her." 

"Oh!"  said  Hayne,  composing  himself.  "Yes,  ahe 
looks  very  well." 

A  glance  of  suppressed  indignation  came  from  the  old 
gentleman. 

"There's  nothing  prettier  in  all  the  land,"  he  said, 
sharply.  "Nor  sweeter.  Nor  better.  I  have  watched  her 
grow  from  an  infant  to  this  day,  and  no  flower  ever  came 
from  shoot  to  stem,  from  bud  to  blossom,  with  greater 


20  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

loveliness.  What  a  happy  man  he  will  be  who  gathers 
that  flower  for  his  own!" 

There  was  a  fascination  about  the  subject  that  en- 
thralled Gordon  Hayne.  He  had  determined  not  to  dis- 
cuss Miss  Bruce  with  any  one  again  that  evening,  but  the 
opportunity  that  he  could  not  resist  had  come  to  him. 

"Is — is  there  any  one  in  particular  who  has  that  pros- 
pect?" he  inquired,  carelessly,  looking  toward  the  farther 
end  of  the  room,  where  a  lady  was  about  to  play  a  selec- 
tion on  a  piano. 

Mr.  Dale's  face  brightened.  For  the  instant  his  pains 
were  forgotten,  and  he  looked  happy. 

"I  may  as  well  tell  you,"  he  said,  in  a  low  tone, 
"though  you  had  best  not  talk  with  him  about  it.  I 
would  rather  you  did  not.  It  has  been  understood — for 
years — between  her  mother  and  me.  When  the  right 
time  comes  she  is  to  be  my  daughter-in-law." 

Gordon  Hayne  wondered  if  any  of  the  passers  would 
notice  a  strangeness  in  has  countenance.  Schooled  to 
conceal  his  feelings  on  most  occasions,  he  knew  that  a 
close  inspection  of  his  face  at  this  moment  would  excite 
remark. 

"Ah!"  he  replied.  "I  had  heard  rumors  of  that  pos- 
sibility. So — it  is  arranged?" 

Mr.  Dale  hitched  his  chair  nearer. 

"Perhaps  I  am  injudicious,"  he  said.  "But  you  are  an 
old  friend,  a  much-liked  friend,  of  my  son.  I  ask  you 
again  not  to  speak  of  this  to  him  unless  he  first  broaches 
the  matter  to  you.  I  cannot  truly  say  that  everything  is 
finally  arranged,  but  it  amounts  to  the  same  thing.  Her 
mother  is  satisfied — I  am  satisfied.  They  are  eminently 
fitted  for  each  other.  They  have  been  close  friends  from 
babyhood.  Neither  has  ever  expressed  a  fondness  for 
any  other  person  of  the  opposite  sex.  It  is  coming 


THEIR   MARRIAGE    BOND.  21 

around  all  right.  They  are  young — there  is  no  great 
haste.  I  only  wish/'  here  Mr.  Dale  grew  very  serious, 
"to  see  them  united  before — I  die." 

It  became  incumbent  on  Mr.  Hayne  to  remark  that 
the  disagreeable  day  foreshadowed  would  undoubtedly 
be  very  long  in  coming.  He  had  not  noticed,  he  said, 
that  Mr.  Dale  seemed  any  worse  than  he  had  been  for  a 
long  time,  and  was  about  to  mention  instances  where 
people  of  his  acquaintance  had  long  outlived  their  ex- 
pectation, when  his  companion  interrupted. 

"I  indulge  in  no  fancies  on  that  score,"  he  said.  "The 
doctors  give  me  three  years  at  the  most.  I  am  quite  con- 
tent. My  infirmities  are  too  numerous  to  make  this 
world  worth  clinging  to.  I  want  to  see  Kingdon  settled, 
happily  married  to  this  beautiful  girl,  and  then  I  will 
take  the  summons  without  complaint." 

Mr.  Hayne  bowed,  with  soberness,  as  was  fitting,  and 
rose  with  the  remark  that  he  noticed  a  friend  to  whom 
he  wished  to  speak. 

His  friend  must  have  been  a  denizen  of  the  solar  vault, 
for  he  went  immediately  out  upon  the  veranda,  and 
walked  up  and  down  with  his  eyes  turned  toward  the 
stars.  He  stayed  so  long  that  Thorpe,  who  was  in 
search  of  him,  came  out  and  found  him  there. 

"Isn't  it  time  for  us  to  go?"  asked  Thorpe.  "We  must 
either  get  this  10.45  train  to  the  city  or  wait  till  11.30." 

"All  right,"  was  the  answer.  "I'm  ready.  Where's 
Brooks?  Is  he  going,  too?" 

"He's  with  Kingdon,"  said  Thorpe.  "He  says  the  last 
train  will  do  for  him." 

Together  the  gentlemen  went  to  bid  good-night  to 
their  hostess,  with  the  usual  courteous  expressions.  Miss 
Ida,  in  a  word  or  two,  sweetly  seconded  her  mother's 
hope  that  she  would  see  them  both  at  her  next  soiree. 


22  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

Thorpe  took  her  hand  in  parting,  but  Hayne  evaded  the 
ceremony,  and  bowed  low  instead. 

"Good-night,  Kingdon,"  he  said,  brusquely,  as  they 
passed  that  gentleman.  "No,  we've  our  train  to  catch, 
and  there's  no  time  for  handshaking,"  he  added,  hasten- 
ing by. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  23 


CHAPTEE  II. 

IDA  STROKES  THE  KITTEN. 

Mrs.  Walden  Bruce  had  done  her  part  fully  in  relation 
to  the  marriage  which  she  meant  should  take  place 
between  Mr.  Kingdon  Dale  and  her  daughter.  She  had 
talked  of  it  as  a  settled  affair  to  the  girl  from  the  time 
Ida  was  thirteen  years  of  age.  She  had  cautioned  the 
child  as  to  what  her  conduct  must  be  under  every  im- 
aginable situation  toward  their  neighbor's  son,  and  she 
had  found  an  apt  pupil. 

No  ship  was  ever  better  under  the  guidance  of  a 
helmsman.  Ida  had  never  felt  the  least  symptom  of  the 
complaint  called  Love  for  Kingdon  Dale.  She  had  fan- 
cied that  it  would  be  nice  to  have  an  establishment  of 
her  own,  some  time,  and  much  better  to  have  a  fine-look- 
ing gentleman  at  the  head  of  it  than  to  live  an  old  maid, 
with  parrots  and  tabby  cats.  She  liked  men  in  the  con- 
crete, the  pleasant  kind  of  men  one  is  apt  it  meet  in  so- 
ciety. If  her  mother  had  chosen  any  one  of  a  dozen 
others  whom  she  knew,  and  said  to  her,  "Ida,  this  is  the 
individual  I  have  selected  for  your  husband/'  she  would 
have  lowered  her  eyes  and  answered,  'Tes,  mamma/* 
with  equal  contentment. 

And  Kingdon,  though  he  had  seen  her  frequently  (the 
managing  parents  had  left  them  a  good  deal  alone)  had 
never  spoken  a  word  to  her  that  indicated  particular  af- 
fection. The  reason  for  this  is  easy  to  give — he  had  no 
more  love  for  her  than  she  had  for  him.  He  had  never 
been  especially  attracted  toward  any  person  of  the  op- 


34  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

posite  sex,  though  he  was  fond  of  the  company  of 
"girls,"  and  not  at  all  bashful. 

He  wanted  to  please  his  father,  as  she  wanted  to  please 
her  mother.  He  knew,  from  frequent  expressions  on  the 
part  of  his  only  living  parent,  that  in  his  mind  he  was 
as  good  as  engaged  to  Ida  Bruce.  It  seemed  an  inevitable 
thing,  and  while,  at  the  time  of  the  evening  party  re- 
ferred to  in  the  preceding  chapter,  he  had  no  intention 
of  defying  the  paternal  will,  he  wished  the  date  of  his 
wedding  postponed  as  long  as  possible. 

He  was  not  insensible  to  the  attractions  of  Miss  Bruce; 
he  could  not  be  and  have  the  full  use  of  his  senses.  He 
had  never  had  his  attention  called  to  a  more  appetizing 
specimen  of  the  female  race.  Physically  she  was  very 
near  perfection.  Mentally  she  was  above  the  average. 
She  had  paid  due  attention  to  the  best  of  teachers  and 
had  a  good  education. 

Kingdon  believed  that  if  it  were  not  for  the  fact  that 
his  prior  claim  was  generally  conceded,  she  would  have 
plenty  of  aspirants  for  her  hand.  If  he  was  compelled 
to  marry,  it  might  as  well  be  to  her  as  another.  Perhaps, 
he  often  thought,  he  might  have  fallen  in  love  with  her 
of  his  own  accord  if  things  had  not  been  so  terribly  cut 
and  dried. 

There  was  no  sense  in  paying  addresses  to  a  girl  who 
had  been  marked  and  ticketed  for  him  ever  since  she  was 
in  short  frocks.  When  the  time  came  she  would  be 
handed  over  and  he  would  have  to  accept  her  as. if  she 
were  a  monument  or  a  set  of  engrossed  resolutions. 
There  was  nothing  to  stir  the  pulses  of  youth  in  such  a 
perfunctory  affair. 

Kingdon  was  already  in  business.  He  had  chosen 
that  path  in  life  in  preference  to  any  of  the  professions, 
and  was  novr  the  junior  partner  in  a  spice  and  coffee  im- 


THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND.  25 

porting  house,  where  he  was  admitted  to  have  talents 
and  to  be  of  value  to  the  concern. 

He  was  the  only  child  of  his  father,  and  there  existed 
much  affection  between  them.  The  elder  Dale  had  al- 
ways exacted  implicit  obedience,  and  the  son  had  always 
rendered  it.  There  had  been  nothing  up  to  the  time  of 
which  I  am  writing  to  cause  the  least  friction  between 
them.  To  get  Kingdon  established  well  in  business,  and 
to  see  him  married  to  the  girl  of  his  (the  father's) 
choice — these  were  the  ambitions  of  Edward  Dale's  life, 
and  when  they  should  be  accomplished,  as  he  had  told 
Gordon  Hayne,  he  was  willing  to  meet  the  messenger  of 
Death. 

Several  weeks  after  the  party  at  Mrs.  Bruce' s,  King- 
don was  asked  to  make  a  foreign  journey,  in  the  interest 
of  his  firm — the  first  one  he  had  ever  undertaken.  When 
he  came  home  to  announce  to  his  father  that  he  had 
been  selected  for  this  mission,  his  face  flushed  with 
pride. 

"I  think  it  a  great  compliment,"  said  he,  "when  there 
are  two  other  partners  older  than  I  who  have  never  had 
the  chance  to  go.  And,  besides,  I  have  always  longed  to 
see  Europe,  and  they  have  agreed  to  give  me  ample  op- 
portunity. I  am  to  go  first  to  London,  to  attend  to  a  lit- 
tle business  there;  then  to  Holland,  where  I  have  things 
to  settle  with  the  Dutch  colony  people;  and  on  my  way 
from  there  to  the  East  I  am  to  be  allowed  a  fair  amount 
of  time  to  see  the  cities  and  other  objects  of  interest  en 
route.  Mr.  Hanson  says  he  thinks  it  best  to  give  me  a 
chance  this  time,  as  I  shall  probably  have  to  go  often 
hereafter,  and  I  might  as  well  satisfy  my  curiosity  first 
as  last.  Isn't  it  delightful?" 

It  was  not  till  he  had  finished  these  exclamations  that 
Kingdon  saw  the  deep  shadow  on  his  father's  counte- 


2$  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

nance.  Then  it  struck  him  all  at  once  that  he  had  been 
very  selfish,  and  he  proceeded  without  delay  to  apolo- 
gize. 

"My  dear  father/'  he  began,  "I  ought  to  have  thought 
— I  am  very  sorry — " 

"No,  don't  say  that,"  interposed  Mr.  Dale.  "It  will, 
it  is  true,  be  hard  for  me  to  part  with  you  for  so  long, 
and,  perhaps,  in  my  state  of  health — " 

"Forgive  me!    I  will  not  go!"  cried  Kingdon. 

"On  the  contrary,  you  must,"  was  the  dignified  reply. 
"  It  is  not  for  the  old  to  set  up  their  whims  against  the 
best  interests  of  the  young.  I  have  lived  my  life,  and 
what  there  is  left  is  of  but  little  value."  The  son  tried 
to  protest,  but  was  not  allowed  to  speak.  "I  want  to  see 
two  things  arranged  before  I  go,  and  they  both  concern 
you.  One  of  them  looks  fair — it  is  that  of  your  business 
connections.  The  other,  as  you  will  undoubtedly  guess, 
is — your  marriage." 

Kingdon,  who  had  been  growing  pale,  turned  red  at 
the  concluding  words.  But  he  only  bowed  politely. 

"Your  partners  tell  me  that  you  are  a  business  man  by 
instinct,"  pursued  Mr.  Dale,  after  a  momentary  pause. 
"They  prove  their  high  opinion  of  you  by  the  commis- 
sion of  which  you  have  just  told  me.  To  go  through  this 
life  contentedly  a  man  needs  a  suitable  income  and  a 
good  wife.  I  am  certain  that  you  will  have  both." 

Kingdon  bowed  again,  reverentially.  His  father's 
solicitude,  his  perfect  self-abnegation,  impressed  him 
deeply. 

"When  are  you  to  sail?"  asked  Mr.  Dale. 

"In  about  five  weeks." 

The  father  looked  thoughtful. 

"It  should  be  announced  before  you  go,"  he  said. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  UQKD.  %1 

"To  what  do  you  refer?"  asked  the  son,  slightly 
startled. 

"Your  engagement  to  Miss  Bruce." 

There  was  great  uneasiness  in  Kingdon's  manner, 
which  he  strove  in  vain  to  conceal. 

"You  know,  at  least  you  understand,  father,"  he  mur- 
mured, "that  no  word  has  ever  passed  between  Ida  and 
myself  on  the  subject." 

The  elder  man  raised  himself  in  his  chair. 

"Quite  proper,"  he  commented,  with  evident  satisfac- 
tion. "There  was  no  need  of  spooning  when  both  of  you 
knew  what  was  to  come.  I  have  expressed  my  intentions 
to  you  a  hundred  times,  and  Mrs.  Bruce  has  done  the 
same  to  Ida.  You  are  sensible  young  folks,  who  know 
what  is  good  for  yourselves.  All  it  wants  now  is  a  few 
sentences  from  you  to  her,  a  dozen  words  in  reply,  and 
then  a  paragraph  in  the  society  papers.  You  can  go  over 
to  call  on  her — to-day;  mention  that  you  are  going 
abroad  for — how  long,  do  you  think?" 

"Four  or  five  months." 

"Four  or  five  months,"  repeated  Mr.  Dale,  "and  sug- 
gest that  this  seems  a  proper  time  to  announce  your  in- 
tentions to  the  world." 

Kingdon  bit  his  lips  nervously. 

"Isn't  that  hurrying  things  a  little?"  he  asked.  "A 
man  has  to  get  up  to  that  point  rather  gradually,  I 
should  suppose.  I've  got  to  ask  her  if  she'll  marry  me, 
haven't  I,  before  I  suggest  announcing  our  engage- 
ment?" 

Mr.  Dale  moved  about  impatiently  in  his  chair. 

"Gracious!"  he  exclaimed,  with  signs  of  coming  tem- 
per. "Have  I,  at  my  age,  got  to  instruct  a  boy  how  to 
approach  a  girl  in  a  matter  of  this  kind?  Nothing  is 
more  simple.  Just  step  in  and  have  a  little  talk;  tell  her 


28  THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND. 

you  are  going  away;  say  you  want  her  for  your  wife,  and 
when  she  answers  that  she  accepts  you,  explain  why  it  is 
best  to  make  the  public  statement  at  once — to  keep 
others  from  bothering  her  during  your  absence.  It  isn't 
an  affair  of  more  than  ten  minutes,  the  whole  thing!" 

Though  not  at  all  sure  that  he  could  arrange  these 
momentous  details  in  such  a  short  space  of  time,  King- 
don  was  not  ready  to  enter  into  an  argument  with  hia 
parent,  which  would  be,  he  foresaw,  to  no  purpose.  So 
he  merely  answered,  "Very  well." 

"I'll  be  hanged  if  you  seem  enthusiastic  over  it!"  said 
Mr.  Dale,  speaking  now  with  a  smile.  "That's  a  pretty 
fine  bundle  of  goods  for  a  fellow  to  get,  if  you  did  but 
know  it.  Ida  always  reminds  me  of  a  dish  of  peaches  and 
cream.  By  gad,  boy,  you  ought  to  thank  me  for  saving 
it  up  for  you!  Some  other  chap  might  have  got  his 
hands  on  it  by  this  time  except  for  my  vigilance." 

The  young  man  tried  to  laugh,  if  for  nothing  else,  to 
please  the  father  he  loved  so  much.  But  the  simile  of 
peaches  and  cream  struck  him  vividly.  That  was 
it,  peaches  and  cream,  sweet,  fresh,  ripe — and  cold. 

An  hour  later,  thinking  it  best  to  have  the  experience 
over,  he  was  walking  across  the  fields  to  his  neighbor's 
house.  His  father's  land  stretched  for  a  goodly  distance 
over  the  country,  and  that  of  the  Bruces  covered  as 
great  a  space  immediately  beyond  it.  When  the  city 
should  grow  out  in  this  direction,  as  the  owners  had 
often  said,  there  would  be  a  fortune  in  this  real  estate. 
Not  for  them — they  would  be  numbered  with  the  silent 
majority — but  for  their  children,  who  were  to  be  united 
with  the  land. 

As  he  approached  the  Bruce  residence,  Kingdon  saw 
a  fair  face  at  one  of  the  windows,  and  the  waving  of  a 
handkerchief  in  welcome,  .Then  its  possessor  disag- 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  29 

peared,  with  an  indication  that  she  would  meet  him  at 
the  door. 

There  was  nothing  surprising  in  this  freedom.  As 
babies  they  had  dug  up  the  graveled  walks  and  pulled 
each  other  in  little  carts.  As  boy  and  girl  they  had  gone 
together  to  the  same  school.  There  had  never  been  the 
least  conventionality  between  them.  Why  should  there 
be  any  now? 

"I  wonder  if  you  can  guess  what  I've  come  over  to 
say?"  he  asked,  a  little  later,  as  they  were  sitting  in  the 
library,  he  with  a  big  staghound  at  his  feet,  she  with  a 
pet  kitten  in  her  lap. 

Now,  to  make  doubly  sure  there  would  be  no  miscar- 
riage in  this  affair,  Edward  Dale  had  sent  a  note  to  Mrs. 
Bruce  half  an  hour  before,  outlining  the  programme  of 
the  day,  and  that  excellent  lady  had  given  Ida  her  final 
directions.  But  the  girl,  with  a  pardonable  evasion,  as- 
sumed a  look  of  curiosity,  which  implied  that  she  had 
not  the  slightest  idea  what  subject  was  uppermost  in 
her  visitor's  mind. 

"Well,"  said  Kingdon,  "I'm  going  abroad." 

Slightly  discomfited  by  the  unexpectedness  of  the 
statement,  which  she  had  supposed  would  come  later,  as 
an  explanation,  Miss  Bruce  colored  and  could  not  speak. 
The  young  man  misunderstood  her  silence,  and  thought 
to  himself,  with  something  like  alarm,  "Can  it  be  that 
she  loves  me?" 

"Yes,"  he  continued,  "my  firm  wants  me  to  go  to  the 
East  on  a  matter  of  business,  that  will  take  four  or  five 
months;  and  I'm  to  start  in  five  or  six  weeks  from  now." 

Miss  Bruce  recovered  her  outward  equanimity  with  an 
effort. 

"It  will  be  very  pleasant  for  you,"  she  said,  with  a 
voice  which  still  had  a  trace  of  strangeness  in  it 


30  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

The  young  man  felt  again  fear  that  this  girl  was  in 
love  with  him — very  deeply  in  love — and  that  the 
thought  of  parting  from  him  for  so  long  was  weighing 
heavily  on  her  heart.  With  all  his  soul  he  hoped  it  was 
not  so.  However,  he  went  on  with  the  message  he  had 
been  given  hy  his  father,  feeling  that  nothing  was  to  he 
gained  hy  evading  the  issue. 

"Yes,"  he  answered,  "it  will  be  decidedly  pleasant.  It 
is  the  sort  of  journey  I  have  always  wanted  to  make.  It 
pleases  father,  too;  he  regards  it  as  a  proof  that  the  firm 
believe  in  my  capacity.  He  says  there  is  only  one  thing 
more  that  he  wants  accomplished  before  he  dies."  King- 
don  grew  very  serious.  "He  wants  to  see  me  married." 

Miss  Bruce  searched  his  face  so  narrowly  as  he  said 
this  that  Kingdon  was  disconcerted.  Her  serenity 
seemed  to  have  returned,  for  she  did  not  flinch  as  she 
replied  that  she  appreciated  Mr.  Dale's  sentiments. 

"He  says  a  good  wife  and  a  good  business  are  the  best 
things  a  man  can  have,"  pursued  Kingdon,  "though  I 
believe  he  put  the  business  first,"  he  added,  with  a  little 
laugh.  He  wanted  to  do  something  to  relieve  the  strain. 
"Having  settled  the  business  part,  the  question  of  a  wife 
comes  next.  And  it  isn't  a  question,  either,  in  my  case, 
for — I  have  never  thought  of  but  one  woman  in  that 
connection." 

He  blundered  on,  thinking  that  he  was  not  doing  it 
very  well,  but  feeling  that  the  surest  way  to  progress  was 
to  keep  pushing  ahead. 

"Ah!"  said  Miss  Ida.  "I  suppose  most  young  men 
have  been  in  love  twenty  times  before  they  reach  your 
age." 

"Eeally!"  he  exclaimed.  "Their  experience  must  differ 
widely,  then,  from  mine.  I've  never  been  in  love  at  all, 
tt  I  understand  the  symptoms."  A  spot  of  red  came  into 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND,  31 

the  girl's  cheek  and  stayed  there.  "There  is  one  girl, 
however,  who  was  the  playmate  of  my  childhood  and  has 
been  the  companion  of  my  youth,  whom  I  esteem 
highly,  and  to  whom  I  should  consider  it  a  great  honor 
to  be  allied.  Ida,  will  you  marry  me?" 

He  looked  furtively  at  her,  and  saw  that  she  was  smil- 
ing good-naturedly.  For  a  moment  she  made  no  verbal 
reply. 

"Your  answer,"  said  Kingdon,  calmly. 

"It  is  'Yes,' "  said  the  girl.  "I  will  marry  you,  King- 
don, and  I  thank  you  for  the  honor  your  proposal  does 
me." 

It  struck  him  that  this  was  not  the  usual  way  this  sort 
of  thing  was  done.  He  had  asked  the  momentous  ques- 
tion and  she  had  accepted  him  in  much  the  same  man- 
ner as  they  might  have  bargained  for  a  house  or  a  piano. 
But  if  it  satisfied  her  it  did  him.  He  had  carried  out  his 
father's  wish,  that  he  should  engage  himself  before  he 
sailed  for  Europe. 

"I  don't  know  much  about  these  matters,"  he  said 
after  taking  her  hand  and  giving  it  a  slight  pressure, 
immediately  dropping  it  when  this  was  done,  "but  I  be- 
lieve the  next  thing  is  to  inform  your  mother  and  my 
father,  and  then  to  send  a  note  to  the  newspapers." 

She  nodded. 

"Manama  will  see  to  the — newspapers,"  she  said.  "It 
will  be  all  right." 

"And  the — the  time — that  has  nothing  to  do  with 
this,  has  it?"  he  inquired.  "It  is  a  matter  for  future  con- 
sideration?" 

"Perhaps  you  had  best  talk  that  over  with  mamma," 
said  Ida,  the  red  spot  in  her  cheek  dilating  a  little.  "Not 
now,  I  don't  mean;  but  some  time  before  you  leave." 

Kingdon  replied  that  he  would  certainly  do  so,  and  aa 


32  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

there  seemed  nothing  further  to  say  in  this  connection 
he  began  to  mention  an  engagement  of  another  sort  that 
he  was  obliged  to  keep  and  to  pull  out  his  watch  and 
inspect  the  figures. 

Before  he  had  gone,  however,  Mrs.  Bruce  came  down, 
attired  for  a  drive,  and  greeted  him. 

"I  have  a  bit  of  news  for  you,"  he  said,  as  soon  as  he 
could  get  a  chance.  "I — I've  proposed  to  Ida,  and  she 
has  accepted  me." 

The  mother's  arms  were  clasped  around  the  daughter's 
form  as  if  in  an  instinct  of  protection. 

"Ida,"  she  cried,  in  suppressed  tones,  "is  this  true?" 

For  answer  the  girl  hid  her  face  in  the  maternal 
bosom,  precisely  as  it  had  been  arranged  an  hour  before 
that  she  should  do. 

"Well,"  said  the  widow,  wiping  away  her  tews,  "I  hope 
— I  know  you  will  both  be  happy.  I  have  seen  you  to- 
gether all  these  years,  and  I  confess  the  thought  has 
come  to  me  that  this  might  be  the  result.  You  are 
fitted  for  each  other.  I  do  not  know  any  other  man  to 
whom  I  could  think  of  giving  my  child.  Our  families 
have  been  such  friends.  It  is  undoubtedly  for  the  best. 
Yes,  we  must  look  at  it  that  way." 

Kingdon  went  slowly  down  the  steps,  for  he  had  al- 
ready opened  the  door  when  his  future  mother-in-law 
appeared. 

"Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  see  that  it  is  put  in  the 
papers?"  he  asked. 

"I  will  attend  to  it,"  ihe  replied.  Then  she  added,  "I 
trust  this  will  meet  with  the  entire  approval  of  your 
father." 

"Oh,  yes!  He  will  indorse  it  fully.  I  know  by  what 
lie  has  already  said." 

"Must  you  go  2"  die  asked,  sweetly. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  33 

"Yes,  it  is  necessary.    I  have  an  appointment." 

Kingdon  lifted  his  hat  to  the  ladies  and  walked  rap- 
idly toward  the  village.  When  he  was  out  of  hearing 
Mrs.  Bruce  had  a  hurried  conversation  with  her  daugh- 
ter. All  that  had  occurred  was  narrated  to  her. 

"And  he  didn't  offer  to  kiss  you — nothing  of  that 
land?"  said  the  mother. 

"No." 

Mrs.  Bruce  patted  on  the  head  the  staghound,  who 
was  waiting  anxiously  for  her  to  start  on  her  ride,  that 
he  might  have  a  run  with  the  horses. 

"He  is  a  very  regular  young  man,"  was  the  slow  com- 
ment. "He  will  be  a  very  safe  husband  for  you.  He's 
no  fly-away.  When  does  he  desire  the  wedding  to  be  ?" 

"He  said  he  would  talk  it  over  with  you.  To  tell  the 
truth,  mamma,  I  don't  think  he  would  mind  if  it  never 
occurred  at  all." 

"Let — -us — see,"  said  the  lady,  ignoring  the  insinua- 
tion. "This  is  December.  He  will  return  by  May,  proba- 
bly. About  September,  that  is  the  time.  I  will  see  that 
he  agrees  to  this,  as  we  mugt  begin  on  your  trousseau." 

The  carriage  came  to  the  door,  and  Mrs.  Bruce  entered 
it,  while  Ida  went  slowly  up  the  stairs,  softly  stroking 
the  kitten  she  still  held  in  her  amis. 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 


CHAPTER  III. 

"YOU  KNOW  MY  WISHES." 

During  the  time  that  intervened  before  his  date  of 
sailing,  Kingdon  Dale  and  Ida  Bruce  indulged  in  none 
of  the  pretty  arts  known  as  love-making.  Their  engage- 
ment seemed,  in  fact,  to  make  their  conversation  more 
distant  than  formerly.  It  was  as  if  some  trouble  had 
come  between  them,  something  that  must  be  regarded 
too  seriously  for  gayety. 

Kingdon  called  several  times  a  week  and  passed  an 
hour  or  so  in  the  company  of  his  fiancee.  She  came  once 
with  her  mother  to  his  father's  house  and  dined  with 
them.  At  table  the  affairs  of  the  young  couple  were 
alluded  to  in  a  businesslike  way,  and  the  date  which  Mrs. 
Bruce  had  fixed  for  the  wedding  was  brought  up  with- 
out exciting  a  protest  from  those  interested.  Kingdom 
did  not  see  any  feasible  way  to  escape  the  net  that  was 
being  woven  about  him,  and  he  thought  it  wisest  to  as- 
sent to  the  plans  that  best  satisfied  his  invalid  father. 

He  had  no  doubt  that  he  would  have  to  marry  this  girl 
Borne  time.  The  elder  people  had  arranged  everything 
thus  far,  why  not  let  them  finish  it  ?  There  was  the  for- 
eign journey  in  between,  at  any  rate.  That  would  give 
him  a  breathing  spell,  and  a  chance  to  think,  untram- 
meled  by  his  parent's  presence.  He  was  like  a  man  in  a 
great  crowd  pushed  along  without  his  own  volition. 

Edward  Dale  bore  the  pain  of  parting  with  his  son 
very  well.  Now  that  they  understood  each  other  there 
nothing  to  fear.  If  he  should  die  before  Kingdoa 


THEIR    MARRIAGE   BOND.  35 

returned,  thought  the  father,  the  announced  engagement 
would  make  everything  right.  Kingdon  was  an  honor- 
able young  man,  who  would  not  break  his  plighted  word. 
His  future  was  safe.  The  business  talents  of  his.  son  had 
already  been  recognized.  The  selection  of  a  wife  had 
been  made,  a  girl  not  only  beautiful  and  good,  but  pos- 
sessed of  something  handsome  in  the  way  of  expectations 
— an  item  not  to  be  despised  in  these  days  when  dollars 
and  cents  count  for  so  much. 

The  farewells  between  Kingdon  and  his  future  wife 
were  courteous  if  not  tender.  They  had  a  genuine  es- 
teem for  each  other.  Both  considered  their  future  con- 
dition as  absolutely  settled.  They  were  to  live  in  the 
closest  of  relations  for  perhaps  half  a  century,  nobody 
could  say,  beginning  eight  months  hence.  How  fond 
they  would  learn  to  be  of  each  other,  time  alone  would 
tell.  He  fancied  that  Ida  was  already  a  victim  of  a  pas- 
sion which  she  could  not  show  too  plainly  while  he  kept 
himself  so  much  aloof.  She,  on  her  part,  considered 
him  one  whose  affection  for  a  wife  would  be  a  matter  of 
slow  but  constant  growth,  and  was  willing  to  risk  that 
^consummation. 

"I  suppose  you  cannot  tell  exactly  when  you  will  re- 
turn?" she  said,  interrogatively.  "It  depends  on  the  way 
your  business  turns  out,  doesn't  it?" 

"Yes,"  he  replied.  "But  they  think  at  the  office  that  I 
can  finish  everything  so  as  to  get  here,  by  the  latest,  be- 
fore June  1st,  perhaps  a  month  sooner."  And  he  found 
himself  counting  mentally,  "July  is  two,  August  is 
three,  September — less  than  four  months  after  I  come 
home  I  shall  have  to  go  to  live  with  this  girl!" 

Then  she  asked  him  again,  for  they  had  debated  the 
matter  several  times,  where  he  expected  to  make  his 


36  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND, 

stops.  He  detailed  his  route  as  well  a«  he  could,  and 
talked  of  the  things  he  expected  to  see. 

When  his  haggage  was  all  packed  for  the  New  York 
evening  train,  he  walked  over  for  his  final  call,  and  spent 
:  an  hour  in  saying  nothing  special. 

"I  shall  have  to  go,"  he  said  at  last,  consulting  his 
watch.  "It  takes  time,  you  know,  at  the  station  for 
checking  and  buying  tickets.  Then  my  dear  old  dad 
will  have  a  lot  to  say  at  the  last  minute.  So,  good-bye." 

He  held  out  his  hand,  just  as  he  used  to  do,  except 
with  a  little  more  reserve,  and  Ida  took  it,  pressed  it,  and 
let  it  go,  as  if  it  were  that  of  any  ordinary  friend.  As 
for  an  embrace,  the  thought  of  it  never  even  entered  his 
mind. 

"Let  me  call  mamma,"  said  Ida,  detaining  him  an  in- 
stant. 

"Mr.  Dale  is  obliged  to  hasten,"  she  exclaimed,  as 
that  lady  made  her  appearance. 

She  had  never  called  him  "Mr."  before  in  her  life  ex- 
cept in  the  presence  of  itrangere,  and  he  noticed  the  ex- 
pression. 

"Good-bye,  Kingdon,"  said  Mrs.  Bruce,  descending 
the  stairs  and  giving  him  a  warm  clasp  of  the  fingers. 
She  would  not  give  him  any  dignity  titles,  not  she.  "We 
shall  think  of  you  hourly,  and  look  for  frequent  letters. 
I  wish  you  would  cable  when  you  land  in  England. 
There  is  always  a  peril  of  the  sea,  and  we  shall  feel  better 
to  hear  from  you  direct." 

"I  shall  cable  to  father,"  he  answered,  "and  I  will  tell 
him  to  send  you  immediate  word.  I  shall  be  safe 
enough.  Good-bye,  Mrs.  Bruce.  Good-bye,  Ida.  If  I 
wait  any  longer  I  shall  lose  my  train." 

The  two  ladies  watched  him  striding  across  the  path 
in  the  snow  that  was  always  well-beaten  between  his 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  37 

home  and  theirs;  and  when  he  had  disappeared  from  view 
they  re-entered  the  house  and  conversed  for  the  next 
hour  upon  the  situation.  The  preparations  for  the 
bride's  attire  entered  into  the  talk  to  a  large  degree,  for 
to  Mrs.  Brace's  mind  eight  months  was  none  too  long  a 
period  to  devote  to  this  important  subject. 

"He  is  all  right/'  commented  the  widow,  in  a  satisfied 
way,  as  she  noted  a  slight  cloud  on  her  daughter's  brow. 
"I'd  put  my  trust  in  that  kind  of  man  sooner  than  in  one 
of  those  exuberant  fellows  who  protest  their  fealty  every 
moment.  He  is  the  kind  that  will  wear  well.  You  won't 
have  to  fear  that  some  other  woman  is  going  to  ensnare 
him  the  minute  he  gets  out  of  sight." 

A  widow  of  middle  age  is  supposed  to  be  a  shrewd 
judge  of  the  opposite  sex.  Whether  Mrs.  Bruce  an- 
Bwered  this  description  will  appear  later  in  these  pages. 
Her  assurance  certainly  pleased  Ida,  for  she  rewarded 
her  for  it  with  a  most  filial  kiss  and  smiled  radiantly 
into  her  face. 

The  parting  between  Kingdon  and  his  father  was  a 
most  affecting  one.  Although  the  parent  suppressed  his 
tenderest  sentiments,  lest  he  should  inflict  pain  by  being 
too  demonstrative,  Kingdon  knew  well  that  the  separa- 
tion was  full  of  distress  to  him.  He  resolved  that  he 
would  cut  his  journey  shorter  than  he  had  intended,  and 
made  a  remark  to  that  effect,  but  Mr.  Dale  responded 
that  this  was  what  he  particularly  wished  him  not  to  do. 

"It  is  your  first  trip  abroad,"  he  said,  "and  it  ought  to 
be  of  great  value  to  you.  I  only  wish  I  were  well 
enough  to  go,  for  I  am  familiar  with  most  of  the  coun- 
tries through  which  you  will  pass,  and  could  be  of  value 
in  pointing  out  the  places  of  chief  interest.  Take  your 
time,  my  dear  boy,  since  your  partners  are  willing  you 
should  do  so.  On  your  next  journey  you  will,  I  hope,  be 


38  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

able  to  take  your  wife,  and  that  will  add  immensely  to 
your  pleasures.  It  is  well  said  that  'Happiness  was  born 
a  twin.'  The  rightly  constituted  man  is  always  happier 
when  he  has  some  one  to  share  his  delights  with  him." 

Kingdon  bowed,  for  he  did  not  feel  that  his  en- 
thusiasm on  this  matter  was  great  enough  to  vent  itself 
in  words. 

"And,  if  anything  should  happen  to  me  during  your 
absence,"  added  the  father,  pausing  to  place  his  hand  on 
his  side,  where  a  sudden  twinge  had  caught  him,  "you 
know  my  wishes.  Let  them  be  sacred  to  you." 

There  was  a  night  ride  to  New  York,  a  trip  across  the 
city,  and  before  noon  the  great  ocean  steamer  had  be- 
gun her  journey  on  the  deep.  Kingdon  felt  the  exhil- 
aration of  the  traveler  who  has  this  sensation  for  the  first 
time.  He  witnessed  the  good-byes  of  the  thronging 
crowds  on  the  dock;  the  beautiful  panorama  of  land  and 
water;  he  felt  the  force  of  the  waves  under  him,  the  gen- 
tle jar  of  the  machinery,  the  breezes  coming  cold  and 
refreshing  up  the  Bay. 

He  wandered  from  side  to  side  of  the  steamer,  catch- 
ing the  most  interesting  of  the  sights  presented.  When 
he  responded  to  the  lunch  call  he  found  the  immense 
dining  saloon  sparsely  filled — for  the  season  was  not  the 
most  popular  one  for  going  East — and  yet  fuller  than  he 
ever  saw  it  again  until  the  boaf  s  prow  cut  the  muddy 
waters  of  the  Mersey. 

Lunch  over,  he  walked  the  deck,  getting  acquainted 
with  several  of  his  fellow-passengers,  after  the  manner  of 
voyagers.  They  were  to  be  companions  for  six  days,  and 
formal  introductions  were  out  of  the  question  in  most 
cases.  It  was  simply,  "My  name  is  Jones;  here  is  my 
card,"  and  "Mine  is  Dale,"  and  the  exchange  of  a  paste- 
board for  the  one  received. 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  30 

Of  course,  in  a  world  as  small  as  this,  numerous  mu- 
tual friends  were  discovered  in  the  midst  of  conversa- 
tion. Dale  knew  John  S.  Johnson,  the  lawyer,  who  oc- 
cupied a  suite  of  rooms  opposite  Jones'  brother.  And 
Jones  was  distantly  related  by  marriage  to  Gilbert  Gray, 
who  married  Miss  Gladys  Newcombe  of  Chicago,  a  sec- 
ond cousin  of  Dale's. 

The  freemasonry  of  the  cigar,  which  unites  most 
Americans  away  from  home,  was  brought  into  requisi- 
tion. Only  the  most  misanthropic  of  men  can  fail  to 
enjoy  the  society  of  his  fellow-passengers  on  an  Atlantic 
liner,  or  any  other  steamer  in  the  world,  where  there  are 
people  whose  language  he  understands. 

Kingdon  was  mercifully  exempt  during  the  week  that 
followed  from  anything  more  than  slight  qualms  of  sea- 
sickness, and  kept  his  feet  on  all  occasions.  He  enjoyed 
the  trip  from  start  to  finish,  and  was  really  sorry  when 
the  lighter  came  alongside  and  conveyed  him  to  the  dock 
at  Liverpool. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  the  purposes  of  this  story  to  fol- 
low his  movements  closely  across  Great  Britain  and  the 
continent.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  he  had  his  eyes  open 
and  visited  as  many  points  of  interest  as  his  stay  would 
allow.  In  due  time  he  took  his  steamer  for  the  islands 
where  his  business  affairs  led  him,  reached  his  port  safe- 
ly, transacted  the  affairs  on  which  he  had  come  with 
signal  success,  and  started  on  his  return  to  Europe  ex- 
tremely well  satisfied  with  the  result  of  his  journey. 

Among  his  fellow-passengers  on  the  return  was  an 
English  army  captain  named  Leonard  Rivers,  and  his 
young  daughter,  a  girl  of  about  twenty  years  of  age. 
Captain  Rivers  had  seen  foreign  service  in  many  coun- 
tries and  was  now  making  his  way  home  by  slow  stages, 
being  in  a  very  low  condition  of  health.  His  real  purpose 


40  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

was  to  reach  England  in  time  to  be  buried  beneath  its 
sod,  for  he  had  a  passionate  love  for  the  land  of  his 
birth,  though  nearly  all  his  life  had  been  spent  in  doing 
her  service  abroad. 

Kingdon  became  well  acquainted  with  both  of  them, 
and  learned  to  like  them  well.  He  passed  much  of  his 
time  on  the  steamer  in  conversation  with  Captain  Eivers, 
whose  stories  of  army  experiences  entertained  him  great- 
ly. He  also  walked  for  long  stretches  of  time  with  Miss 
Margaret  Eivers,  her  father  being  unable  to  promenade 
the  decks,  except  for  a  very  brief  period,  and  then  quite 
slowly. 

The  Captain  was  not  yet  fifty,  and  in  a  healthy  coun- 
try would  probably  have  been  now  in  the  prime  of  life. 
He  was  paying  the  penalty  of  tropic  suns  and  a  diet  that 
was  never  made  for  northern  stomachs.  It  seemed  un- 
likely that  he  would  live  another  year,  and  he  himself 
was  fully  aware  of  his  condition.  He  talked  freely  with 
Kingdon,  the  burden  of  his  speech  being  regret  at  having 
to  leave  Margaret  without  adequate  protection.  He  had 
never  been  able  to  save  anything  out  of  his  pay,  and  she 
would  have  to  depend  on  the  good  offices  of  some  distant 
relations  or  her  own  efforts.  Tears  came  to  the  eyes  of 
the  gallant  soldier  as  he  rehearsed  these  things  to  the 
sympathetic  ears  of  the  American,  who  did  not  know- 
how  to  offer  much  consolation  in  such  a  very  delicate 
case. 

Margaret  Rivers  was  a  good  specimen  of  the  whole- 
some English  girl;  not  what  could  be  called  a  beauty,  but 
with  an  honesty  and  simplicity  of  countenance  that  won 
immediate  regard.  She  was  more  slender  than  the  type 
to  which  she  belonged,  for  we  learn  to  associate  robust- 
ness with  the  British  maiden,  who  is  apt  to  have  a  figure 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  41 

modeled  after  that  of  Hebe,  and  to  carry  the  English 
rose  in  both  of  her  full  cheeks. 

Margaret  had  spent  much  of  her  life  in  the  East, 
which  had  reduced  her  natural  weight  and  lent  a  pale- 
ness to  her  face  that  did  not  belong  there  of  right.  She 
was  of  medium  height,  with  very  dark  hair  and  eyes  that 
matched  it,  neither,  however,  being  black.  Her  attire 
was  very  plain,  partly,  perhaps,  from  necessity,  partly 
from  choice.  A  sweet,  lovable,  trusting  and  trustworthy 
girl — this  is  what  Mr.  Dale  decided  that  she  was  before 
he  had  known  her  an  hour. 

People  get  to  be  very  confidential  aboard  ship,  espe- 
cially when,  as  in  this  case,  they  become  attracted  to- 
ward each  other  to  the  exclusion  of  all  the  other  pas- 
sengers. Kingdon  had  occasion  to  know  that  many  of 
the  English  officers  that  one  meets  abroad  resemble  the 
simile  of  Dickens — "A  retired  bulldog  on  half -pay." 
The  privations  of  their  lives  have  too  frequently  soured 
their  dispositions  and  made  them  anything  but  agree* 
able  traveling  companions.  Captain  Rivers  had  con- 
served the  natural  courtesy  of  his  disposition  through 
all.  The  fact  that  he  was  of  Irish  blood  on  his  mother's 
side  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  this.  He 
thanked  the  American  many  times  for  the  interest  the 
latter  showed  in  Margaret  and  was  pleased  at  the  in- 
timacy that  developed  between  them. 

"It's  a  pity,"  he  said,  "that  the  young  should  be  ham- 
pered in  their  movements  by  the  infirmities  of  their 
elders.  I  like  to  have  Margaret  walk  with  her  own  free 
step  instead  of  dragging  at  a  snail's  pace  at  my  side.  I 
can  see  that  she  is  looking  brighter  and  better  in  every 
way  since  you  took  her  in  charge." 

The  couple  talked  of  a  thousand  things  in  those  long 
walks — she  of  life  in  the  Indies  and  in  Cape  Colony,  he 


42  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND 

of  things  American,  in  which  she  was  deeply  interested. 
She  had  formed  ideas  of  our  country  of  the  most  mag- 
nificent description  and  had  wished  very  much  she  could 
be  permitted  to  see  it  at  some  time.  That,  however,  she 
said,  with  a  sad  smile,  she  would  now  never  be  able  to  do. 

Kingdon  told  her  of  his  father,  of  his  business,  of  al- 
most everything,  in  short,  except  Miss  Ida  Bruce  and  his 
engagement  to  her.  He  put  that  out  of  his  mind  as 
much  as  he  could,  and  thought  it  the  last  subject  to  dis- 
cuss in  the  presence  of  this  interesting  little  woman. 

Going  and  coming  to  the  spice  islands,  Mr.  Dale  was 
obliged,  naturally,  to  pass  through  the  Suez  Canal.  On 
the  outward  trip  he  repressed  his  desire  to  get  a  glimpse 
of  the  wonders  of  Egypt,  feeling  that  he  ought  to  attend 
to  the  business  of  his  firm  before  taking  any  more  time 
for  his  own  pleasure.  Before  returning,  however,  he  re- 
ceived a  letter  advising  him  to  disembark  for  this  very 
purpose,  and  spend  a  week  or  two  at  least  in  the  land  of 
the  Pharaohs. 

Captain  Rivers  continued  so  ill  that  Mr.  Dale  made 
him  promise  to  break  his  journey  when  they  should  ar- 
rive at  Ismalia,  and  rest  over  a  steamer  with  him.  Know- 
ing that  the  financial  question  was  a  powerful  one  with 
his  new  friend,  he  showed  him  a  list  of  pensions  at 
Cairo  in  his  Baedeker,  where  for  a  very  slight  remunera- 
tion board  and  room  could  be  obtained.  He  also,  feel- 
ing that  this  would  be  of  great  influence  upon  the  father, 
spoke  of  the  value  to  Margaret  of  seeing  the  Pyramids 
and  the  Sphynx.  The  result  was  that  the  Captain  agreed 
to  the  proposal,  to  the  delight  of  his  daughter,  who 
wanted  to  go  ashore  for  the  double  reason,  of  resting 
from  her  journey  and  of  being  a  little  longer  in  the  so- 
ciety of  Mr.  Dale,  whom  she  had  begun  to  like  exceed- 
ingly- 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  43 

But  it  had  been  foreordained  that  the  English  officer 
was  never  to  see  the  shores  of  Egypt  with  his  mortal 
eyes.  The  night  before  arrival  Mr.  Dale  was  aroused  in 
his  berth  by  a  steward,  who  said  he  was  wanted  without 
delay  by  Miss  Margaret  Eivers.  He  dressed  with  the 
utmost  haste  and  hurried  to  her  cabin,  where  he  learned 
from  a  stewardess  that  Captain  Rivers  was  in  the  midst 
of  a  violent  paroxysm,  from  which  the  ship's  doctor  said 
he  was  not  likely  to  recover. 

On  either  side  of  the  now  unconscious  man  the  daugh- 
ter and  Mr.  Dale  passed  the  rest  of  the  sad  night.  Noth- 
ing could  be  done  for  the  dying,  but  Kingdon  felt  that 
his  presence  was  a  material  support  to  the  weeping  girl, 
who  had  no  other  friend  on  the  steamer. 

When  the  red  sun  rose  across  the  wave  the  exhausted 
body  yielded  up  the  spirit,  and  Margaret,  beside  herself 
with  grief,  threw  her  arms  around  Mr.  Dale's  neck  and 
sobbed  frantically  against  his  bosom. 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MARGARET  REFUSES  TO  LISTEN. 

It  is  not  easy  for  the  average  young  man  to  occupy  the 
position  of  consoler  to  a  pretty  girl,  in  an  hour  of  great 
grief  to  her,  without  going  a  trifle  further  than  the 
necessities  of  the  case  warrant.  Margaret  was  wild  with 
her  loss,  and  clung  closely  to  the  only  other  friend  she 
had  near,  in  the  extremity  of  her  affliction.  In  com- 
forting her,  Kingdon  found  himself  giving  utterance  to 
endearing  terms,  and  even  to  slight  embraces,  and  the 
manner  in  which  these  manifestations  were  received  en- 
couraged him  to  continue  them;  for  who  could  resist 
such  an  opportunity  to  comfort  the  sorrowing? 

"Do  not  sob  so  violently,  my — darling!"  he  would  ex- 
claim. "Remember  your  father  is  free  now  from  all 
the  pain  and  suffering  he  has  undergone." 

"Oh,  yes!"  was  her  reply.  "But  he  was  my  only  one. 
Now  that  he  is  gone  I  feel  all  alone  in  the  world." 

"No,  no;  you  are  not  alone,  Margaret!  You  have  a 
friend  left  still  in  me.  I  shall  not  desert  you,  dearest.  I 
will  see  you  safe  home  in  England." 

His  arms  held  her  close  to  his  heart  as  he  spoke.  He 
was  acting  the  part  of  consolation  with  a  vengeance. 

"You  are  so  kind!"  she  murmured.  "I  don't  know 
what  I  could  have  done  without  you.  But  (sob)  what 
shall  I  do  in  England  without  my  (sob)  father?  I  have 
only  distant  relations,  and  they  have  cares  enough  of 
their  own.  There  is  no  place  left  for  me,  Mr.  Dale. 
England  is  no  longer  the  happy  land  of  my  dreams,  sine? 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  45 

he  cannot  share  it  with  me.  There  is  nothing  to  attract 
me  there  now,  more  than  to  any  other  spot  on  earth." 

To  this  he  made  suitable  reply,  prophesying  that  when 
the  newness  of  her  grief  was  past  she  would  see  things  in 
another  light.  He  asked  her,  as  soon  as  he  thought 
wise,  if  she  wanted  her  father's  hody  sent  home,  offering 
to  make  all  arrangements.  But  she  said,  with  another 
burst  of  tears,  that  Cairo  was  as  much  English  soil  aa 
Devonshire,  and  that  the  soldiers'  cemetery  there  was 
the  best  place  for  the  interment.  They  were  to  arrive  at 
Ismalia  the  next  evening,  and  Cairo  is  but  a  few  hours 
ride  into  the  interior. 

"Besides,"  she  added,  with  a  frankness  that  was  habit- 
ual with  her,  "it  would  cost  much  more  than  I  can  afford 
to  send  the  casket  home.  I  have  talked  with  him  about 
it  many  times,  and  he  has  said  he  only  asked  to  lie  under 
the  shadow  of  the  English  flag." 

Mr.  Dale  remembered  having  heard  his  dead  friend 
make  a  similar  statement,  and  acquiesced  at  once  in  the 
idea  that  this  was  the  best  thing  under  the  circum- 
stances. He  volunteered  to  see  the  authorities  and  find 
out  exactly  what  to  do. 

"Everything  must  be  plain,"  said  Margaret,  trying  to 
wipe  the  tears  from  her  face.  "The  very  plainest  possi- 
ble. To  be  honest  with  you,  Mr.  Dale,  I  have  not  a 
penny  that  can  be  wasted." 

"Excuse  me  for  saying,"  he  replied,  "that  I  shall  at- 
tend to  all  the  financial  matters.  Captain  Rivers  was  my 
personal  friend,  and  I  wish  to  pay  every  expense  con- 
nected with  his  interment." 

"You  ought  not  to  do  that,"  she  protested,  though  an 
inward  satisfaction  was  manifest  at  the  load  it  would  lift 
from  her  shoulders. 

"Why  not?"  said  he.    "There   is  no   reason  why  I 


46  THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND. 

should  not  do  even  more.  I  can  let  you  hare  twenty  or 
thirty  pounds  for  yourself,  just  as  well  as  not,  and  never 
miss  it.  I  would  not  want  you  to  arrive  on  English 
ground  with  your  purse  empty." 

But  to  this  she  entered  an  instant  demurrer.  To  take 
charity  from  him  was  the  last  thing  to  which  she  would 
consent.  He  put  it  in  the  most  favorable  light  he  could 
think  of,  but  she  did  not  swerve.  For  the  father,  per- 
haps, she  might  allow  his  kindness;  for  herself  it  was  not 
to  be  thought  of.  She  could  reach  home  with  what  she 
had.  There  would  be  a  small  allowance  due  from  the 
War  Department;  and  then  it  would  be  for  her  to  seek 
employment.  Charity  she  would  not  accept,  and  she 
thought,  with  a  sudden  pain  at  the  heart,  least  of  all 
from  him. 

It  was  no  time  to  urge  her,  and  Mr.  Dale  dropped  the 
subject  for  the  present.  At  Ismalia,  when  he  could  leave 
her  temporarily,  he  went  to  arrange  by  telegraph  for  the 
obsequies,  which  were  taken  in  charge  by  one  of  the  offi- 
cials, to  his  great  satisfaction.  He  returned  to  Margaret 
and  told  her  what  had  been  done,  and  she  rewarded  him 
with  a  warm  clasp  of  one  of  his  hands  in  both  her  own. 
She  had  grown  much  calmer  during  his  absence. 

"How  can  I  ever  thank  you?"  she  exclaimed,  as  he 
took  a  place  on  the  sofa,  which  she  made  vacant  at  her 
side. 

"It  is  little  enough,"  he  answered.  "I  wish  it  were  a 
thousand  times  more." 

"I  should  have  died  without  you,"  she  murmured, 
nestling  nearer.  "You  seem  to  me  like  a  real  brother,  or 
what  I  suppose  one  would  be,  for  I  am  an  only  child." 

It  was  a  bond  of  fellowship  between  them  when  he 
said  that  he  also  had  never  had  brother  or  sister,  and  it 
gave  a  sort  of  excuse  for  the  kiss  which  he  pressed  on 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  47 

her  forehead,  pushing  back  her  disheveled  hair  for  the 
purpose.  She  continued  to  hold  one  of  his  hands,  and 
the  sensation  was  not  disagreeable.  But  after  a  little 
while  a  sense  of  the  proprieties  came  over  him,  and  he 
made  an  excuse  to  leave  her  for  the  present. 

As  he  was  crossing  the  hall  he  met  one  of  the  servants, 
who  handed  him  some  letters  that  had  just  arrived.  One 
of  them  was  from  his  father,  and  this  he  read  first: 

"I  am  feeling  much  better  of  late,  and  perhaps  I  shall 
yet  live  for  years.  I  think  it  is  on  account  of  my  pleas- 
ure at  your  prospects,  which  is  the  nearest  thing  to  my 
heart.  I  have  seen  a  member  of  your  firm,  who  says  you 
have  made  a  marked  success  on  your  trip.  Then  I  re- 
ceive a  call  daily  from  Mrs.  Bruce  or  Ida,  when,  the 
latest  condition  of  the  bridal  trousseau  forms  the  main 
subject  of  conversation.  Just  think  how  near  it  is — Sep- 
tember! Ah,  you  are  a  lucky  young  dog,  with  such  a  bride 
in  store;  so  young,  so  pretty,  so  good,  and — a  thing  not 
to  be  despised — an  heiress  to  a  comfortable  fortune.  I 
need  not  caution  you  to  be  most  circumspect  in  your  con- 
duct dmring  the  remainder  of  your  journey,  for  a  clean 
record  is  the  best  present  a  man  can  bring  to  his  wife. 
Temptations  must  fail  before  the  prospect  of  enveloping 
this  superb  creature  in  your  arms,  such  a  short  time 
away.  Ida  says  you  have  written  but  seldom,  but  I  tell 
her  some  of  the  letters  may  have  been  lost,  you  have 
moved  about  so  much.  Write  a  little  oftener  to  both  of 
us,  but  if  there  is  time  for  only  one,  write  to  Ida.  She 
will  come  over  and  tell  me  she  has  heard  from  you,  and 
I  shall  know  you  are  well  and  safe." 

Kingdon  felt  a  twinge  of  conscience  as  he  read  the 
loving  words.  He  had  not  written  to  his  father  as  often 
as  he  ought  since — since,  especially,  the  date  of  his 
meeting  with  Captain  Rivers  and  his  daughter.  To  Ida 


48  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

he  had  written  not  more  than  twice  a  month,  and  he  had 
done  little  then  beside  telling  of  the  scenes  he  had 
passed  through,  much  after  the  manner  of  a  newspaper 
correspondent. 

Not  once  had  he  given  way  to  an  expression  of  affec- 
tion, nor  had  he  alluded  in  the  remotest  degree  to  their 
engagement  or  approaching  marriage.  In  her  answers 
she  had  made  no  reference  to  these  things,  either;  but 
it  was  not  to  be  expected  she  would  do  so  when  he  had 
so  studiously  avoided  the  subject.  Kingdon  resolved 
that  he  would  write  more  frequently,  in  accordance  with 
his  father's  request,  both  to  him  and  to  Ida.  The  news 
of  his  parent's  improved  health  gave  him  great  delight, 
and  he  reflected  with  pleasure  on  the  nearness  to  the 
time  when  they  would  again  look  each  other  in,  the 
face. 

As  soon  as  he  had  written  and  mailed  his  replies  to  the 
firm  and  to  his  father,  Mr.  Dale  escorted  Miss  Rivers  to 
the  train,  which  already  bore  the  body  of  the  dead  sol- 
dier, and  they  set  out  for  Cairo.  The  funeral  took  place 
on  the  day  after  their  arrival,  the  hot  weather  in  that 
country  making  delays  impossible.  The  simple  military 
service  was  read,  the  salute  fired  by  the  squad,  and  the 
desiccating  soil  of  Egypt  began  its  work. 

Miss  Rivers  bore  the  strain  better  than  he  could  have 
expected.  She  leaned  upon  him  in  everything.  Not 
only  did  she  commit  to  his  care  the  disposition  of  her 
father,  but  of  herself.  She  put  her  slender  purse  in  his 
hand  with  the  utmost  confidence,  saying  that  he  would 
find  the  least  expensive  route  for  her  to  take  in  pur- 
chasing the  tickets  for  England. 

Believing  that  a  diversion  was  the  best  thing  for  her, 
he  began  on  the  second  day  after  the  funeral  to  take  her 
with  him  in  his  drives  about  Cairo.  Together  they  saw 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND.  49 

the  wonderful  works  of  long  extinct  men,  which  have 
made  this  vicinity  the  mecca  for  travelers  of  all  lands. 
Together  they  strolled  through  the  ancient  bazars,  the 
mosques,  and  the  beautiful  new  quarter,  fringed  by  the 
old,  laid  out  like  a  piece  of  Paris  itself. 

Their  conversation  during  these  days  was  held  in  a  low 
key,  and  those  who  met  them  realized  that  some  recent 
misfortune  tempered  their  steps.  It  was  undoubtedly 
better  to  divert  the  mind  of  the  young  girl  than  to  per- 
mit her  to  bury  herself  in  her  grief.  To  Margaret  the 
thoughtfulness  of  her  escort  was  an  anodyne  of  surpass- 
ing power. 

After  studying  all  the  ways  that  might  take  one  to 
England,  Mr.  Dale  mapped  out  a  route  that  would  in- 
clude Malta  and  Gibraltar.  There  was  no  reason  on  the 
part  of  Miss  Eivers  for  haste,  and  he  wanted  very  much 
to  visit  both  of  these  fortresses  on  his  way  home. 

The  fares  to  Malta  on  some  of  the  smaller  lines  were 
much  lower  than  those  which  sailed  direct  for  Brindisi, 
there  connecting  with  the  railways  across  the  continent 
of  Europe,  though  the  latter  were  by  far  more  expedi- 
tious. 

He  explained  the  difference  to  Margaret,  who  an- 
swered that  she  would  leave  it  entirely  to  him.  If  he 
was  going  in  the  same  direction,  she  added,  with  charm- 
ing naivete,  she  would  certainly  prefer  that  route  by  all 
means. 

There  was  no  need  to  spend  a  long  time  at  Alexandria, 
the  port  from  which  the  start  for  Malta  would  be  made. 
A  couple  of  days  would  suffice  for  all  the  sights  at  that 
point.  So  the  intervening  time  was  passed  at  Cairo, 
which,  above  all  places,  holds  the  attention  of  the  traveler 
as  long  as  his  good  fortune  permits  him  to  remain.  The 
endless  kaleidoscopic  display  in  the  streeti  entranced 


50  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

him — the  donkey-drivers  and  their  beasts:  the  camels, 
bearing  brides  and  burdens;  the  stately  Arabs;  the  veiled 
women;  the  voyagers  from  all  parts  of  the  world  in  their 
native  costumes;  the  Saratoga-like  throngs  at  the  mag- 
nificent hotels.  Both  of  the  young  people  with  whom 
we  have  particularly  to  deal  would  have  been  glad  to 
stay  here  a  month  longer,  although  the  last  of  March  had 
arrived,  and  the  temperature  was  steadily  growing 
warmer. 

At  Alexandria  they  stopped  at  the  Hotel  Abbat,  where 
they  had  the  best  meal  they  had  enjoyed  for  months. 
The  steamer  on  which  they  were  to  sail  was  the  Ar- 
cadia, a  boat  that  had  seen  better  days,  but  was  still  sea- 
worthy. Upon  going  aboard  Mr.  Dale  had  a  moment  of 
heart-sinking  at  the  primitiveness  of  the  arrangements 
for  passengers;  but  Miss  Rivers,  who  had  traveled  a  great 
deal,  said  she  was  sure  they  would  do  very  well,  and  he 
suppressed  the  criticisms  that  rose  to  his  lips. 

A  tornado  struck  the  ship  soon  after  getting  into  the 
open  sea,  and  continued  with  unabated  force  for  most  of 
the  five  days  which  the  voyage  consumed.  Margaret 
was  as  good  a  sailor  as  the  master  himself,  Captain 
Worthington,  who  seemed  to  prefer  the  deck  to  the 
cabin,  even  in  the  worst  of  weather.  She  had  not  a  sin- 
gle qualm,  but  Mr.  Dale  was  obliged  to  lie  in  his  berth 
or  on  the  sofa  in  the  smoking-room  for  several  of  the 
most  tempestuous  days.  The  girl  tended  him  assiduous- 
ly, and  he  was  hardly  sorry  for  his  condition,  when  it 
brought  him  so  much  kind  attention  from  a  companion 
he  was  learning  to  prize  so  highly. 

He  was  certainly  glad,  however,  when  the  great  walls 
of  the  fortress  of  Malta  broke  on  his  vision,  and  set  foot 
on  shore  with  as  good  a  will  as  he  remembered  to  have 
felt  on  any  occasion. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  51 

Quarters  were  secured  at  one  of  the  hotels,  and  the 
couple  set  out  to  view  the  island.  Famous  for  its  relics 
of  the  Knights  of  Malta,  it  had  a  hundred  interesting 
things  to  visit,  both  in  and  out  of  the  capital  city  of 
Valetta. 

In  the  evening  they  strolled  up  to  the  little  park  by 
the  ramparts,  where  the  sweet  peace  of  nature  sits  in 
strange  contrast  to  the  deadly  preparations  for  war  on 
every  side.  There  were  cannon  to  right  of  them,  cannon 
to  left  of  them,  cannon  behind  them,  and  the  silver  sea 
in  front.  It  was  plain  that  nothing  but  treachery  could 
wrest  this  iron  jewel  from  the  British  crown.  It  could 
be  secured  only  by  such  methods  as  operated  in  the  case 
of  Gibraltar,  and  in  these  days  that  is  practically  impos- 
sible. Beneath  these  guns  a  hundred  merchantmen 
might  rest  secure.  To  possess  Malta  is  to  control  the 
Mediterranean. 

Kingdon  Dale  thought  of  all  these  things,  and  yet  at 
this  time  he  cared  little  for  them.  In  his  brain  there 
had  lodged  the  germ  of  an  idea  quite  unconnected  with 
anything  naval  or  military.  Until  lately  he  had  taken  it 
for  granted  that  his  acquaintance  with  Miss  Rivers  must 
end  in  a  fortnight,  at  the  farthest.  Now  he  began  to 
mutiny  against  such  a  fate,  and  to  say  to  himself  that 
he  could  not,  would  not,  endure  it. 

"When  does  our  boat  go?"  she  asked,  after  one  of 
their  long  silences. 

"  There  are  two  boats,"  he  said.  "  One  leaves  to-mor- 
row morning,  at  a  very  early  hour.  I  did  not  think  you 
would  care  to  go  on  that,  especially  as  I  need  a  little 
longer  rest  after  my  attack  of  mal  de  trier" 

"  And  the  next  one?" 

"  It  will  be  something  like  a  week.  I  thought,  per- 
haps, you  would  be  willing  to  remain  a  little  longer 
rather  than  leave  me  here  alone." 


52  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

"  Willing!"  she  echoed.  "  It  is  exactly  what  I  should 
prefer — to  stay  with  you  to  the  very  latest  mi  mite!" 

The  tears  gushed  from  her  eyes,  and  answering  drops 
filled  his  own. 

"  Then  you  don't  feel  tired  yet  of  my  company?"  he 
suggested,  in  a  low  tone. 

She  bit  her  lips  and  stifled  the  sobs  that  came  to  her 
chest.  She  shook  her  head  decidedly. 

"  Margaret,"  he  said,  clasping  her  shoulders  with  his 
arms,  "  I  wish  we  were  never  to  part!" 

It  was  an  open  avowal  of  what  had  been  in  his  mind 
for  days,  but  when  he  knew  the  words  were  uttered  he 
was  alarmed  at  the  sound.  And  his  feelings  were  not 
lessened  in  that  respect  when  she  turned  spasmodically 
and  buried  her  face  against  his  coatsleeve. 

"My  darling,"  were  his  next  words,  "this  is  a  very 
cruel  world.  Sit  down  here  and  let  me  talk  to  you.  It 
can  do  no  harm  to  hear  a  little  of  the  truth,  unpleasant 
as  the  facts  may  be." 

She  obeyed  without  demur,  and  sat  looking  at  him  as 
if  he  were  a  judge  who  had  her  fate  in  his  hands — as, 
indeed,  he  was. 

"  I  want  you  to  forgive  me  in  advance,"  he  pleaded, 
"  if  anything  I  say  gives  you  a  thousandth  part  of  the 
pain  it  gives  me  to  tell  it." 

"  I  am  sure,"  she  answered,  warmly,  "  that  you  are  the 
soul  of  honor." 

He  was  not,  and  her  confident  words  cut  him  deeply. 

"  You  shall  decide,"  he  said,  "  when  I  have  finished. 
I  am  engaged  to  be  married — " 

She  drew  away  from  him  as  if  a  sword  had  pierced 
her  side,  and  started  to  rise,  but  he  held  her  down. 

"Not  vet,"  he  said.  "Listen  till  I  have  finished, 
otherwise  the  good  opinion  you  have  formed  of  me  wili 


THETR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  53 

be  ruined,  and  there  will  be  no  pity  for  me  in  your 
heart." 

She  gave  up  the  struggle,  and,  turning  her  face  in  an 
opposite  direction,  waited  for  him  to  proceed. 

"  When  I  was  a  child,  too  young  to  be  told  of  it,  my 
father  arranged  my  marriage.  The  little  girl  who  was 
growing  up  for  me  had  a  mother  who  was  equally  deter- 
mined that  the  match  should  take  place.  Between  this 
girl  and  me  there  has  never  been  the  slightest  manifesta- 
tion of  love  from  that  day  to  this.  I  have  seen  her  fre- 
quently; we  have  been  simply  friends,  no  more.  My 
father  has  been  for  a  long  time  in  a  condition  of  health 
which  makes  excitement  dangerous.  He  cannot  bear  the 
least  opposition  without  flying  into  a  temper  that  might 
easily  be  fatal.  Before  I  came  from  home  he  insisted 
that  I  should  make  a  formal  proposal  of  marriage — " 

A  shiver  ran  across  the  young  form  by  his  side,  and 
the  hand  he  placed  upon  her  arm  was  firmly  pushed 
away. 

"A — formal — proposal,"  he  continued,  after  a  mo- 
mentary pause.  "  I  had  never  known  what  the  feeling 
of  love  was.  I  believed  myself  incapable  of  that  senti- 
ment. I  did  not  want  to  marry  any  one,  and  but  for  my 
filial  duty  I  never  would  have  done  so  with  any  person  I 
had  then  met.  But  I  had  tried  to  be  a  dutiful  son  to  a 
father  whom  I  adored,  and  who  has  had  for  years  no  one 
to  care  for  but  me.  I  did  as  he  requested.  I  went 
through  the  formalities,  to  his  great  satisfaction.  Before 
I  left  home  on  my  present  voyage  I  had  promised  to 
marry  this  young  lady  next  September.  But — listen  one 
moment  longer,  Margaret — I  never  shall  marry  her  now, 
if  I  live  a  million  years!" 

Miss  Eivers  faced  about  and  gazed  with  distended  eyes 
at  the  speaker. 


54  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

"  You  will  break  your  word !"  she  cried,  reproachfully. 
"  I  did  not  think  that  of  you,  Mr.  Dale." 

"My  word/"  he  repeated.  "Would  you — you — tell 
me  to  link  my  life  to  one  for  whom  I  have  no  affection, 
when  there  is  another  who  holds  my  fullest  and  truest 
love?  Would  you—" 

She  stopped  him  in  his  impetuous  declaration,  rising 
and  standing  at  his  side. 

"  One  moment,"  she  said,  sharply.  "  Whom  do  you 
mean?  Who  is  it  that  you  love  like  this?" 

"  My  darling — "  he  answered,  in  the  same  strain,  but 
she  stopped  him  again. 

"You  refer  to  me?" 

"  Most  earnestly  and  sincerely,  yes! " 

^Then  I  must  ask  you  to  bring  your  confession — I 
should  say,  your  recital — to  a  close." 

He  stared  like  one  drunken. 

"  Then  you  do  not  care  for  me  at  all?  "  he  ejaculated, 
thunderstruck. 

"  You  have  no  right  to  ask  me.  You  have  treated  me 
as  a  friend,  until  now  as  a  very  sincere  one.  But  to  tell 
me  of  your  engagement  to  another  and  in  the  next 
breath  to  say  you  love  me — that  is  a  very  near  approach 
to  insult." 

Against  this  he  protested  with  all  his  might,  refusing, 
in  spite  of  her  urging,  to  be  silent. 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth  is  to  lose  your  esteem,  I  see," 
he  said,  in  conclusion. 

"  You  may  still  retain  that  if  this  matter  is  allowed  to 
end  here,"  she  replied.  "  If  you  persist  in  saying  any- 
thing more  to  me  that  I  do  not  wish  to  hear  I  shall  bid 
you  good-bye." 

He  was  still  for  some  seconds,  and  when  he  spoke  it 
was  desperately,  like  one  who  has  received  a  tenibla 
blow. 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  55 

"  You  shall  not  say  good-bye  to  me,"  he  faltered, "  un- 
til your  boat  or  mine  bears  us  out  of  the  sight  of  each 
other.  If  you  insist  I  will  say  nothing  more  in  relation 
to  you.  But  let  me  repeat  that  I  shall  never  marry  the 
lady  to  whom  a  mistaken  sense  of  duty  made  me  give  my 
promise.  I  will  refuse  to  blight  two  lives — hers  and 
mine.  I  know  now  what  is  to — I  mean  that  I  can  con- 
ceive no  greater  sacrilege  than  to  wed  where  I  cannot 
love,  to  join  my  life  to  one  woman  when  my  heart,  my 
very  soul  is — Margaret,  you  are  too  hard!  I  cannot  de- 
fend myself  when  I  am  hampered  in  my  phrases." 

He  waited,  hoping  for  some  remission  of  her  com- 
mand, however  slight,  but  she  did  not  speak. 

"  It  may  seem  to  you  that  I  am  wrong,"  he  said,  im- 
pressively. "  But  if  you  had  promised  to  wed  a  man 
and  found  that  all  your  love  had  been  stirred  into  life 
by  another,  can  you  conceive  anything  worse  than  to 
enter  upon  a  life  of  falsehood  merely  because  of  a  prom- 
ise made  in  an  unguarded  hour  ?  " 

She  stood  before  him  with  an  expression  of  sympathy 
and  grief  written  on  her  countenance. 

"  I  am  no  casuist,"  she  answered.  "  I  only  know  that 
promises  of  marriage  are  meant  to  be  kept.  I  under- 
stand the  pain  of  which  you  speak.  For  I,  too,  have  had 
'  all  my  love  stirred  into  life/  and  yet  I  would  not  take 
one  who  belonged  to  another,  though  my  loss  hurried 
me,  as  perhaps  it  may,  to  the  grave." 

"  Margaret! "  he  cried,  springing  to  his  feet. 

"  Not  another  word,  I  pray  you,"  she  protested.  "  I 
have  borne  all  I  can.  If  you  are  the  friend  I  believe  you, 
let  me  go — for  the  present.  I  wish  to  lie  down — I  must 
have  rest." 

Bowing  profoundly,  and  with  a  strange  mixture  of 
sensations  in  his  brain,  Mr.  Dale  walked  dizzily  from  her 
room. 


56  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

"THEN  I  MUST  LIVE  SINGLE." 

Kingdom  Dale  walked  up  and  down  in  his  chamber  for 
hours,  turning  the  matter  over  in  his  mind.  He  had 
never  met  a  girl  he  liked  so  well,  never  one  for  whose 
close  acquaintance  he  cared.  She  had  said,  almost  in  so 
many  words,  that  all  her  love  had  been  stirred  into  life 
by  him.  Was  her  sentiment  of  his  duty  to  Ida  Bruce  to 
wreck  the  ideal  life  that  might  come  to  him  and  to  Mar- 
garet? She  was  unreasonable  in  the  high  estimate  she 
put  upon  such  an  engagement  as  his. 

No,  he  would  not  let  her  destroy  his  hopes  and  wreck 
her  own  life  into  the  bargain.  He  would  save  her  from 
herself,  if  there  was  any  way  to  accomplish  it. 

And  there  was  a  way;  there  must  be  one,  with  so 
much  at  stake! 

His  head  was  very  hot.  He  bathed  it  from  the  ewer 
that  stood  in  his  room.  He  brushed  his  hair  carefully 
and  looked  at  his  reflection  in  the  glass.  He  saw  the 
perturbed  countenance,  the  heavy  eyelids,  the  set  mouth. 
And  beyond  it  all  he  saw  the  features  of  the  woman  he 
adored. 

He  would  not  let  her  force  him  into  a  course  so  hate- 
ful, unless  her  will  was  stronger  than  his. 

Miss  Rivers  kept  to  her  room  the  whole  of  the  even- 
ing, and  he  strolled  discontentedly  up  and  down  the 
steep  streets,  and  in  and  out  of  the  military  club,  to 
which  he  had  been  introduced  by  his  consul.  Before  go- 
ing to  bed  he  smoked  innumerable  cigars  and  read  a  lot 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  57 

of  old  newspapers,  until  he  knew  their  contents  by  heart. 
During  the  night  he  awoke  a  dozen  times;  and  when  he 
slept  his  dreams  were  filled  with  visions  of  Margaret,  al- 
ways trying  to  escape  him,  hut  frustrated  each  time  be- 
fore she  quite  succeeded  in  getting  away. 

He  was  hanging  about  the  hotel  disconsolately  when, 
to  his  surprise  and  joy,  a  waiter  came  to  say  that  Miss 
Eivers  wished  him  to  call  on  her  as  soon  as  he  could  find 
it  convenient.  Not  pausing  a  second  he  ran  upstairs, 
three  steps  at  a  time,  to  her  apartment,  and  answered 
her  "  Come  in !"  without  a  moment's  delay. 

Before  he  could  speak  a  word,  she  exhibited  a  letter 
she  had  just  received  and  began  to  talk  about  it. 

"  I  wish,  in  the  first  place/'  she  said,  tremulously,  "  to 
beg  your  pardon  for  troubling  you  with  more  of  my 
affairs.  But  I  have  no  one  else  now — here — or  perhaps 
elsewhere." 

She  paused,  and  he  saw  that  something  agitated  her 
extremely;  something,  he  rightly  conceived,  that  must 
be  contained  in  that  letter. 

"  I  hope  I  need  not  say,"  he  answered,  "  that  I  am 
now  and  always  at  your  entire  service." 

"  Oh,  but  this  is  beyond  your  power,  or  any  one's,  t« 
remedy!"  cried  Margaret,  with  a  sob  in  her  voice  that 
she  was  trying  her  best  to  choke  down.  "  I — I  cannot 
tell  it  to  you;  read  it  for  yourself." 

She  thrust  the  missive  into  his  hands,  and,  rising, 
went  to  another  part  of  the  room,  where  she  threw  her- 
self, in  a  burst  of  tears,  upon  a  sofa. 

Much  distressed  at  her  attitude,  but  hampered  by  the 
restrictions  she  had  placed  upon  him  yesterday,  he  re- 
frained from  following  her,  and  began  to  read  the  letter 
that  had  caused  the  trouble.  First  he  scanned  the  en- 
velope, which  had  an  English  stamp  and  bore  a  post- 


58  THEIR    MARRIAGE   BOND. 

mark  indicating  that  it  was  mailed  in  a  town  in  Derby- 
shire. 

"  My  Dear  Niece/'  it  ran,  "  Your  letter  informing  us 
of  your  father's  severe  illness,  and  the  probability  of  his 
early  demise,  has  filled  us  with  deep  regret.  I  wish  it  were 
possible  for  me  to  invite  you  to  visit  us,  or  to  make  your 
home  here,  should  you  be  left  an  orphan,  but  such  is  not 
the  case.  My  daughter's  husband  has  recently  died,  and 
she,  with  her  three  children,  are  now  living  entirely  at 
my  charge.  The  house  is  literally  full,  and  my  purse  is 
feeling  the  severity  of  the  drain  as  well.  I  gather  from 
Leonard's  letters  that  he  is  near  the  end,  and  have  tried 
to  think  of  some  way  to  aid  you,  but  it  is  impossible. 
My  advice  is  for  you  to  go  straight  to  London  and  seek 
employment.  You  must  not  be  too  particular.  Do  the 
best  you  can,  and  when  you  are  settled  write  me  again. 

"  Nettie  sends  love.    Your  affectionate  aunt, 

"  MYRA  SWAIN." 

The  words  of  this  epistle  were  blurred  before  the  eyes 
of  the  reader,  as  he  realized  what  a  pang  they  must  have 
given  to  that  slender,  sobbing  figure;  but  with  this 
thought  came  another  that  caused  his  heart  to  swell. 
In  this  desperate  position,  might  not  Margaret  relent  a 
little  in  her  attitude  toward  him? 

"  You  were  so  severe  last  night,"  he  began,  "  that  I 
hardly  know  what  I  may  be  allowed  to  say — 

She  roused  herself  and  presented  her  wet  face  for  his 
inspection. 

"  Do  not  allude  to  that,  I  beg,"  she  said.  "  This  letter 
makes  me  sufficiently  miserable  without  recalling  the 
pain  that  conversation  gave  me." 

"  But  I  am  left  perfectly  helpless,"  he  protested,  "  to 
offer  you  any  assistance  or  advice  unless  you  indicate 
that  I  shall  not  receive  another  dismissal  before  I  can  ex- 
plain myself.  I  told  you  last  night  how  dear  you  were 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND.  59 

to  me — don't  speak,  I  am  not  trying  to  repeat  it,  but 
only  to  remind  you  where  I  stand.  You  have  refused  to 
listen  to  the  proposal  of  marriage  I  was  about  to  make, 
or  to  anything  that  connects  our  future  beyond  the  next 
few  days.  I  would  like  to  help  you  in  a  pecuniary  way, 
if  you  will  permit  me.  Beyond  that  I  see  nothing  that  it 
is  in  my  power  to  do." 

She  heard  him  with  a  trembling  of  the  lips,  and  a 
going  and  coming  of  the  color  in  her  cheek. 

"  Oh,  if  you  could  comprehend,"  she  cried,  "  what  a 
true  friend  I  think  you,  and  how  impossible  it  is  that  I 
should  take  a  penny  of  yours,  which  it  is  unlikely  I 
could  ever  return!  That  note  of  my  aunt — she  is  an 
aunt  by  marriage  only — leaves  me  a  beggar.  I  have 
money  enough  to  reach  her  home,  and  I  had  hoped  that 
through  her  influence  I  might  be  placed  in  some  menial 
position  where  I  could  at  least  earn  my  bread.  That  ex- 
pectation is  at  an  end.  All  that  is  left  for  me  is  to  go,  as 
she  advises,  to  London,  and  seek  in  that  immense  city  a 
chance  to  wrest  a  crust  from  a  million  others  as  needy, 
perhaps  more  so  than  I.  I  wish  I  could  keep  from 
telling  you  this — it  breaks  my  heart  to  parade  my  pov- 
erty— but  there  is  no  one  else  in  all  the  world  to  whom 
I  can  speak,  and  I  must  unbosom  myself  or  die." 

He  told  her  she  was  quite  right  to  confide  her  trouble 
to  him,  and  that  she  might  rely  upon  his  sympathy  and 
consideration  to  the  fullest  extent.  He  could  not  see, 
however,  why  she  should  object  to  a  gift  of  money, 
which  he  could  spare  as  well  as  not,  and  which  it  was 
very  evident  she  would  need. 

"Can't  you — can't  you  understand  that?"  she  asked, 
earnestly.  "  Not  even  when  I  have  confessed  that  I  love 
you  with  all  my  soul?  I  could  go  to  the  strangers  in  this 
hotel,  perhaps  to  the  passengers  on  the  steamer  that 


60  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

takes  me  to  England,  and  tell  them  my  story,  with  an 
appeal  for  help.  But  not  to  yon!  I  would  rather  starve 
here  in  Malta  than  accept  anything  from  your  generous 
hand.  Can't  you  understand  that?  Can't  you?"  she 
repeated,  gazing  at  him,  with  parted  lips. 

"  I  must  admit  that  I  cannot,"  he  responded.  "  Here 
is  the  situation  as  it  appears  to  me:  I  have  a  certain  sum 
of  money  which  I  can  spare;  you,  through  no  fault  of 
your  own,  are  in  need  of  it;  what  is  wanted  is  the  simple 
exchange  of  that  sum  from  my  pocket  to  yours." 

She  rose,  took  a  few  steps  across  the  room,  and  sat 
down  in  a  chair  near  the  window. 

"  But  this  money,"  she  said,  "  you  would  not  give  to 
every  applicant  who  might  be  in  my  situation.  You  offer 
it  solely  because  of  your  unusual  affection  for  me.  Is  it 
not  so?" 

His  answer  was  delivered  in  a  tone  which  showed  his 
impatience,  though  he  tried  hard  to  conceal  it. 

"  I  do  not  know  in  what  school  you  were  reared,"  he 
said,  "  but  your  points  are  more  intricate  than  any  I  ever 
before  heard.  If  a  friend  who  cares  very  much  for  you 
is  not  to  be  permitted  to  render  assistance,  who  is? 
Should  you  persist  in  maintaining  this  attitude  you  will 
add  a  deeper  pain  to  the  one  you  gave  me  yesterday,  and 
possibly  live  to  repent  it." 

"  I  was  reared  in  a  school,"  she  answered,  "  that 
taught  me  to  avoid  everything  which  strikes  a  direct 
blow  to  my  pride  and  my  sense  of  justice.  If  I  was  sure 
to  return  this  money  to  you,  I  would  accept  it  as  a  loan, 
with  many  thanks.  But  I  see  no  way  in  which  I  can  do 
so.  In  all  the  sky  there  is  no  ray  of  sunlight  for  me.  I 
have  been  educated  in  a  manner  that  will  spoil  me  for  a 
servant.  My  father's  income,  while  small,  has  enabled 
us  to  live  independently.  My  manners  are  not  sufficient- 


THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND.  61 

ly  humble  for  a  lady's  maid,  or  even  a  governess  of  chil- 
dren, should  I  be  lucky  enough  to  draw  so  grand  a  prize 
in  the  lottery  of  London  life.  If  I  take  your  money  I 
shall  merely  spend  it  in  trying  to  prolong  for  a  few  weeks 
an  existence  which  has  lost  its  charm/' 

His  position  was  a  difficult  one.  He  could  not  put  his 
arm  about  her  now,  as  he  had  done  when  her  father  died 
and  press  a  kiss  of  friendship  on  her  forehead.  She  had 
withdrawn  from  all  that  peremptorily. 

"  I  have  even  been  thinking,"  she  continued,  after  a 
pause,  "  that  it  is  useless  for  me  to  leave  this  place.  My 
means  will  last  longer  if  I  remain,  and  the  chance  of 
employment  in  some  one's  kitchen  is  as  good  here  as  else- 
where." 

He  told  her  she  distressed  him  intensely  by  these  state- 
ments, and  again  pressed  upon  her  the  reasonableness  of 
accepting  a  loan  or  a  gift  from  him.  He  professed  to  be- 
lieve that  her  prospect  of  repaying  it  was  as  good  as  that 
of  the  average  borrower.  But  he  did  not  convince  her. 

"  There  is  another  thing  I  would  suggest,"  he  said, 
when  the  right  opportunity  seemed  to  have  arrived,  "  if 
I  were  sure  you  would  consider  it  in  its  true  light.  In 
the  firm  of  which  I  am  a  partner  there  are  several  girls 
always  employed,  at  writing  and  keeping  accounts.  If 
you  will  go  to  America  I  will  guarantee  you  a  permanent 
place,  with  a  salary  three  times  as  large  as  you  could  ex- 
pect in  England — the  same  that  is  paid  to  others  of  your 
intelligence  and  capacity,"  he  explained,  as  he  saw  her 
doubting  expression.  "  To  advance  you  the  price  of  the 
voyage  is  nothing  more  than  has  been  done  in  such  cases 
a  hundred  times,  a  mere  business  affair.  If  you  refuse 
this  I  shall  not  know  what  to  think  of  you." 

She  listened  with  the  utmost  attention,  and  then  de- 
clined the  offer  without  delay. 


6$  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

"  Unreasonable  as  it  may  seem  to  you,  I  mnst  refuse," 
she  said.  "  But  I  will  be  perfectly  fair  and  give  the 
cause.  In  your  office  I  should  perpetually  be  brought  in 
contact  with  you — should  see  you,  at  least,  passing  in 
and  out  of  the  place.  I  should  see  your  wife,  perhaps, 
and  by-and-by  your  children.  No,  Mr.  Dale,  I  have  not 
strength  enough  to  bear  it." 

"Because  you  love  me?"  he  asked,  incredulously. 

"  Because  I  love  you,"  she  said,  with  fervor.  "  I  am 
'willing  to  say  so,  as  often  as  you  wish.  There  is  no 
wrong  to  your  betrothed  in  doing  this,  so  that  I  hold  fast 
to  my  determination  not  to  cheat  her  out  of  her  rights. 
I  have  to  think,"  she  continued,  ecstatically,  "  of  what  I 
should  suffer  if  I  were  engaged  to  you,  and  she  came  be- 
tween us.  To  my  mind  it  is  worse  for  a  man  to  violate 
his  betrothal  vows  than  his  marriage  ones.  There  are 
remedies  for  wives,  but  none  for  sweethearts.  I  think  of 
that  young  lady,  with  her  wedding  gowns  partly  made, 
the  congratulations  of  friends  constantly  arriving,  the 
sweet  dreams  of  maidenhood  tinctured  with  the  fore- 
shadowed future.  To  rob  her  of  her  bliss  would  be  worse 
than  murder.  And  if  I  were  to  accompany  you  to  Amer- 
ica, in  your  present  state  of  mind,  you  would  persist  in 
your  rash  resolution  to  break  that  girl's  heart,  hoping 
that  I  should,  after  all,  relent.  It  is  only  by  separating 
yourself  from  me  entirely,  losing  my  address,  having 
me  vanish  utterly  from  your  knowledge,  that  you  will 
find  it  possible  to  go  to  the  altar  in  September,  according 
to  your  solemn  promise." 

Kingdon  was  amazed  at  the  openness  of  her  declara- 
tion. She  admitted  her  love  for  him  as  freely  as  if  it 
were  not  outside  of  all  conventionality. 

"Forgive  me  if  I  inform  you  once  more,"  said  he, 
"  tb»t  whether  you  leave  me  or  not  I  will  nerer — " 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  63 

She  shook  her  head,  to  show  that  he  must  not  finish 
the  sentence. 

"If  you  said  that  a  thousand  times  it  would  not 
change  me." 

"  Then  I  am  to  live  a  single  life,  always?  "  he  said, 
interrogatively. 

"  No;  you  are  to  act  the  part  of  an  honest  man,  and 
carry  out  your  obligations." 

She  was  very  intense.  The  strongest  hope  and  belief 
that  she  would  do  as  she  said  shone  in  her  eyes. 

"  So  help  me  Heaven ! — "  he  began. 

"  Do  not  finish  it!  "  she  cried.  "  You  can  do  few  fa- 
vors for  me  now,  and  I  plead  for  this  one." 

He  had  never  seen  any  one  so  decided,  and  was  puz- 
zled what  course  to  adopt. 

"  What  else  can  I  do  for  you?"  he  asked,  desperately. 

"  I  do  not  know  yet,"  she  replied,  hesitatingly.  "  I 
will  try  to  tell  you  to-morrow." 

Then  she  asked  him  if  he  could  take  a  walk  with  her, 
without  alluding  to  any  of  the  subjects  they  had  been 
discussing.  He  promised,  eagerly,  and  they  strolled 
where  everybody  in  Malta  strolls — along  the  fortifica- 
tions. 


64  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  DANGERS  OF  LONDON. 

There  was  nothing  in  the  personal  appearance  of  Miss 
Rivers  to  indicate  the  extremity  of  her  fortunes.  She 
wore  the  plain  mourning  which  she  had  donned  for  her 
father.  She  remained  at  a  good  hotel.  The  story  which 
she  had  told  to  Mr.  Dale,  of  the  letter  from  her  English 
aunt,  was  unknown  to  any  one  else  in  Malta. 

There  was  staying  in  the  house  an  army  officer  and  his 
wife,  Col.  and  Mrs.  Wainwright,  and  Margaret  had  held 
several  talks  with  the  lady.  On  the  evening  following 
her  walk  with  Dale,  she  sought  Mrs.  Wainwright  with  a 
definite  purpose  in  view.  The  Colonel's  wife  had  been  in 
London, — had  passed  much  of  her  life  in  that  city.  She 
ought  to  be  able  to  impart  information  of  the  kind  that 
Margaret  most  needed. 

She  found  Mrs.  Wainwright  alone,  her  husband  hav 
ing  gone  to  the  club,  and  at  once  spoke  of  the  subject 
nearest  her  heart. 

"  I  have  just  heard  of  a  case  in  which  I  am  much  in- 
terested/' began  Margaret,  "about  which  I  want  your 
advice.  I  have  a  young  friend  who  has  been  left  penni- 
less by  misfortune,  and  who  is  now  in  the  Southern  part 
of  Europe,  uncertain  what  move  it  is  best  to  make.  She 
has  been  advised  to  go  to  London  and  seek  employment. 
She  is  fairly  well  educated,  and  has  been  reared  like  any 
other  young  lady  of  the  middle  class.  She  could  teach 
children,  or  perhaps  assist,  if  nothing  else  offered,  in  the 
care  of  a  house.  She  has  not  a  single  acquaintance  in  the 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  W 

city,  but  thinks  her  prospects  there  better  than  in  a  for- 
eign country.  It  is  a  desperate  case.  With  your  knowl- 
edge of  London,  what  do  you  advise  me  to  write  her?  " 

Mrs.  Wainwright  looked  deeply  interested. 

"  How  old  is  your  friend?  "  she  asked. 

"  About  my  age." 

"  Is  she  good-looking?" 

Margaret  reddened  slightly. 

"  Passably  so,"  she  replied,  lowering  her  eyes. 

"  And  unsophisticated,  of  course." 

"  She  is  unacquainted  with  the  world,  if  that  is  what 
you  mean.  She  has  never  had  any  responsibility  outside 
of  her  own  home." 

The  lady  shook  her  head  slowly. 

"  It  is  a  sad  thing  to  say,  Miss  Rivers,  but  the  chances 
are  all  against  the  success  of  your  friend.  I  mean  to  tell 
you  the  truth.  If  she  were  a  farmer's  daughter,  with 
sturdy  limbs  and  a  capacity  for  hard  work,  she  might 
get  a  place  in  a  shop,  a  kitchen  or  a  factory.  If  she  were 
B  graduated  teacher  there  would  be  a  possible  chance  in 
a  school,  though  all  of  these  lines  are  fearfully  over- 
crowded. But  being  what  you  describe  her,  the  en- 
couragement is  small,  indeed.  London  is  a  great  grist- 
mill. It  grinds  out  both  wheat  and  chaff.  I  am 
ashamed  to  say  it,  but  the  most  probable  result  of  your 
friend's  going  there  without  protection  is  starvation,  or 
— a  moral  catastrophe." 

Margaret  looked  up  with  frightened  eyes. 

"  You  mean — "  she  began. 

"  Exactly.  The  tragedy  is  repeated  daily.  The  hon- 
est, well-meaning  girl  comes  to  London.  At  first  she 
searches  diligently  for  such  a  place  as  she  would  like  to 
find.  In  a  few  days  she  lowers  her  ambition  and  only 
asks  for  any  honest  means  of  getting  her  bread.  Her  re- 


66  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

sources  grow  slender  and  slenderer.  Hunger  begins  to 
seize  her.  The  rent  of  the  poor  room  she  has  occupied 
becomes  due.  Some  evening  she  is  accosted  upon  the 
street  by  a  man  who  has  noticed  her  despondent  air.  He 
offers  warmth  to  the  cold  bod}-;  food  to  the  starving  stom- 
ach. There  is  no  alternative  but  death,  from  which  the 
young  spirit  shrinks,  even  in  its  adversity.  She  goes 
with  him,  and  from  that  hour  her  descent  is  rapid.  I  do 
not  need  to  dwell  upon  it,  but  it  makes  me  say  to  every 
such  girl,  '  Keep  out  of  London/  " 

Margaret  shivered  from  crown  to  toe.  She  imagined 
herself  already  at  the  dire  extremity  mentioned,  with 
the  frightful  alternative  before  her  own  eyes. 

"  Keep  out  of  London."  That  was  very  well  to  say; 
but  if  out  of  London,  where  then?  Was  there  any  spot 
on  earth  where  the  poor  girl  of  good  parentage  could 
find  a  living? 

"  I  should  say  to  such  a  girl,"  continued  Mrs.  Wain- 
wright,  kindly,  "seek  your  relations,  however  humble 
they  may  be.  Put  up  with  a  lowly  home,  make  your  lot 
with  the  poorest,  but  never  go  alone  to  London.  Find  a 
husband  among  the  laborers  or  mechanics,  forget  that 
you  were  ever  in  a  different  rank,  devote  yourself  to  your 
family  as  it  comes.  But  never,  never,  never  go  to  Lon- 
don!" 

Margaret  knew  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  that  the 
lady  had  penetrated  her  secret,  and  felt  that  she  was  ad- 
dressing the  "  friend "  whose  situation  had  been  un- 
Teiled  to  her.  The  voice  of  Mrs.  Wainwright  was  more 
than  kind;  it  was  sympathetic  and  deeply  earnest. 

"  There  surely  must  be  a  possibility  of  a  better  fate  in 
that  immense  place,"  murmured  Margaret,  confusedly. 

"  Yes.  There  is  a  possibility  that  the  purchaser  of  a 
lottery  ticket  will  win,  the  capital  prize,  but  half  a  mil- 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  67 

lion  other  investors  only  lose  their  money.  Listen,  Mise 
Rivers:  I  knew  personally  of  a  girl  who  went  to  London, 
and  became,  after  many  vicissitudes,  the  wife  of  a  noble 
and  honorable  man.  But  hear  through  what  she  passed 
in  the  meantime.  She  tried  as  hard  as  any  one  ever  tried 
to  find  work — at  anything,  she  was  not  particular  what. 

"  One  day  a  finely  dressed  woman  took  her  from  an 
employment  office  to  her  palatial  home.  She  was  given 
a  pleasant  room  at  the  top  of  the  house,  and  fell  asleep 
with  a  prayer  of  thankfulness  on  her  lips  that  she  had 
found  at  last  the  shelter  and  food  she  sought.  An  hour 
later  she  was  awakened  to  discover  that  a  man  was  in 
her  chamber,  and  when  she  uttered  a  scream  he  told  her 
that  no  sound  could  pass  the  walls.  It  was  one  of 
those  traps  of  which  so  many  abound  in  London,  and 
she  was  as  helpless  as  a  fly  in  the  spider's  web." 

The  lady  paused,  breathing  heavily,  as  if  her  story 
brought  back  a  reminiscence  she  could  hardly  endure. 

"  And  you  knew  this  girl — you  saw  her  afterward?  " 
exclaimed  the  horrified  listener. 

"Ah,  yes!  I  knew  her,  and  still  know  her — well!" 
was  the  reply,  delivered  in  a  tone  of  the  greatest  in- 
tensity. 

"And  you  say  that,  after  this  experience,  she  still 
found  a  husband?" 

"Yes.  After  this  and  twenty  more.  For  she  was 
kept  a  slave  in  that  house  for  long  weeks.  The  bloom 
fled  from  her  cheeks.  She  could  not  eat  more  than 
enough  to  keep  life  in  her.  Half  her  waking  hours 
were  passed  in  tears.  She  lived  in  constant  dread  of 
what  each  minute  would  bring  forth/7 

Margaret  listened  with  fascination.  The  story  was  al- 
most incredible  to  her  young  brain,  but  it  bore  the  im- 
press of  truth,  and  she  did  not  doubt  it 


68  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

"  How  did  she  escape?  "  she  asked,  breathlesely. 

"  I  will  tell  you.  Among  all  the  men  that  visited  that 
house  in  two  months  there  was  just  one  who  learned  of 
this  girl's  situation  into  whose  heart  there  came  a  manly 
impulse.  He  was  an  officer  of  Her  Majesty,  but  that  was 
not  it;  several  of  the  girl's  assistants  had  shown  their 
uniforms  in  the  room.  He  had  come  to  the  house  to 
while  away  an  evening,  and  the  prize  on  the  upper 
floor  was  offered  him.  He  had  no  intention  of  taking 
advantage  of  her  situation,  but  was  resolved  to  save  her 
from  it  if  she  proved  the  unwilling  occupant  of  the 
house  which  she  was  represented. 

"Paying  the  money,  he  was  given  the  key  of  her 
chamber.  When  he  entered  she  was  sound  asleep,  so 
exhausted  by  her  fears  and  trials  that  she  did  not  hear 
him.  Locking  the  door  he  knelt  by  the  girl's  side  and 
gazed  for  a  long  time  at  her  pale  and  wasted  features/' 

The  Colonel's  wife  could  not  control  her  voice  as  she 
came  to  this  pathetic  part  of  her  story.  Tears  rolled 
down  her  cheeks,  and  Miss  Eivers  could  not  help  weep- 
ing with  her. 

"When  many  minutes  had  passed/'  continued  Mrs. 
Wainwright,  when  she  could  speak,  "and  the  girl  did  not 
awaken" — the  tears  flowed  faster — "he  began  to  kiss  her 
cheek,  gently,  reverently,  pityingly. 

"Her  eyes  opened,  and  she  saw  only  one  of  the  sex 
she  had  learned  to  fear  and  to  hate.  Springing  up,  she 
was  about  to  renew  her  long-continued  struggle  in  a 
hopeless  cause,  when  she  heard  a  soft  voice  bidding  her 
have  no  alarm.  Gaining  confidence  slowly,  she  told  her 
sorrowful  story  to  this  man,  on  whose  face  she  soon  saw 
signs  of  the  deepest  indignation.  He  found,  by  further 
questions,  that  she  had  no  friends  in  London,  and,  In- 


THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND.  69 

deed,  none  on  earth  to  whom  she  could  with  confidence 
appeal. 

" '  Do  you  wish  to  leave  here? '  he  asked.  '  Oh,  how 
earnestly!'  she  answered.  'If  I  will  take  you  at  once, 
will  you  go  with  me?'  said  he.  '"Where?'  'To  my 
apartments.'  The  alternative  was  not  agreeable,  but  es- 
cape from  this  fearful  den  was  to  be  accepted  at  anj 
cost. 

"1  have  no  clothes/  she  stammered.  1  will  wrap 
my  topcoat  around  you/  he  said,  'and  take  you  in  a  car- 
riage.' 'They  will  not  let  us  go.'  'I  will  brain  any  one 
who  tries  to  stop  us.'  Afraid  to  depart,  not  willing  to 
stay,  she  gave  a  trembling  consent." 

There  was  now  no  question  in  Margaret's  mind  that 
she  was  listening  to  a  bit  of  autobiography.  The  ex- 
citement with  which  the  lady  related  the  history  was  too 
pronounced  for  any  other  hypothesis. 

"The  greatcoat  was  wrapped  around  the  girl,  who  had 
the  air  of  a  winter's  night  to  face.  Then  the  gentleman 
— am  I  not  justified  in  calling  him  one? — rang  the  bell. 
A  masculine  servant  who  answered  was  pulled  inside  the 
room  by  a  firm  hand  and  ordered  to  do  as  he  should  be 
bidden  under  penalty  of  a  sound  drubbing. 

"  It  was  now  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  the 
house  was  still  as  death.  Only  the  man  who  had  an- 
swered the  bell  was  on  duty.  To  make  resistance  less 
likely,  the  officer  gave  the  fellow  five  sovereigns,  which 
he  put  in  his  pocket,  promising  implicit  obedience. 

"  Taking  the  girl  in  his  arms — she  was  no  heavy  bur- 
den for  his  strong  frame — the  gentleman  followed  the 
servant  down  the  long  stairs,  the  heavy  carpets  giving 
forth  no  sound.  Reaching  the  door  on  the  street  level, 
he  gave  a  last  whisper  of  warning  to  the  man,  and  passed 
Justilj  into  the  street,  The  snow,  was  falling  slowljr. 


70  'THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

Luckily  a  carriage  happened  to  be  passing,  and  he  placed 
his  burden  inside.  Giving  a  direction  to  the  driver,  he 
followed  immediately,  and  the  hateful  residence  where 
the  girl  had  been  incarcerated  was  speedily  left  behind." 

The  relief  at  this  stage  of  the  story  was  plainly  shown 
in  the  face  of  the  lady  relating  it.  Again  Margaret  felt 
sure  she  was  telling  a  tale  of  her  own  experience. 

"But,  the  marriage?  "  she  asked,  for  she  could  not  for- 
get this  important  matter.  "How  was  it  brought 
about?" 

"  I  am  coming  to  that,"  said  Mrs.  Wainwright.  "  Ar- 
riving at  the  gentleman's  residence,  the  girl  was  carried 
directly  to  his  rooms,  which  were  handsomely  furnished, 
besides  being  of  a  delicious  warmth,  refreshing  after  the 
cold  night  ride.  The  situation  was  most  embarrassing. 
Now  that  the  excitement  of  the  escape  was  over,  the  girl 
began  to  feel  the  shame  of  her  new  position. 

"  But  the  hero  of  this  story  relieved  the  girl's  mind  at 
once.  *  I  shall  have  to  leave  you  now/  he  said,  *  as  there 
is  not  room  enough  for  both  of  us  here.  Go  to  bed  with- 
out fear — the  key  is  on  your  side  of  the  door — and  sleep 
as  well  as  you  can  till  morning.  When  I  arise,  for  I  shall 
be  in  another  part  of  the  house,  I  will  send  you  a  maid, 
who  will  take  your  orders  for  breakfast.  Later  in  the 
morning  I  will  get  a  dressmaker  to  take  a  list  of  the 
clothing  you  need,  and  have  the  most  important  articles 
provided  at  once.  When  you  are  ready  to  see  me  I  will 
call  again,  say  at  six  this  evening.  After  that  your  move- 
ments shall  be  for  yourself  to  decide.' '; 

Miss  Rivers  hung  on  each  word  of  the  singular  nar- 
rative. 

"  Before  the  girl  could  speak,  the  officer  had  taken  his 
departure.  The  events  on  the  following  day  were  car- 
ried out  as  he  had  planned.  At  six  o'clock  he  called,  and 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND.  71 

was  received  in  a  fitting  costume,  which  had  been  hastily 
fashioned  over  from  a  ready-made  stock.  With  all  the 
politeness  imaginable  the  gentleman  asked  if  he  might 
order  a  dinner  for  both  sent  up,  and  the  request  was 
granted.  To  each  attempt  on  the  girl's  part  to  utter 
thanks,  and  they  were  many,  he  raised  a  silent  but  ex- 
pressive dissent.  He  wished  to  find  what  desires  she  had 
for  the  future,  and  to  continue  to  aid  her  in  that  di- 
rection so  far  as  lay  in  his  power. 

"  She  timidly  revealed  her  situation — homeless, 
friendless,  but  for  him,  hopeless  without  his  aid.  Be- 
sides, though  she  did  not  tell  him  in  set  phrases,  she 
loved  him — already.  Yes,  with  all  the  fervor  of  her 
young  heart!  To  be  separated  from  him  was  like  going 
to  death.  She  could  not  think  of  any  future  in  which 
he  did  not  form  a  part.  And  yet  how  could  she  dream 
that  he,  the  polished  army  officer,  would  see  anything  to 
attract  him  in  the  poor  girl  whose  past  two  months  had 
been  filled  with  a  succession  of  horrible  events  such  as 
should  arouse  loathing  in  the  breast  of  any  decent  per- 
son?" 

All  that  had  passed  through  the  mind  of  the  unfor- 
tunate woman  was  mirrored  again  upon  her  counte- 
nance. 

"  With  a  delicacy  that  cannot  be  described,  the  gen- 
tleman met  the  situation.  He  said  to  the  girl  that  she 
could  remain  where  she  was  until  she  could  think  of 
something  more  agreeable,  and  to  her  statement  that 
she  had  nothing  with  which  to  repay  the  expense  of  her 
maintenance,  he  answered  that  this  was  a  matter  that 
need  not  trouble  her  in  the  least." 

Miss  Eivers  shook  with  a  slight  attack  of  ague.  She 
knew,  as  well  as  if  the  first  person  had  been  used  in  the 
recital,  that  Mrs.  Wainwright  was  speaking  of  herself. 


72  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

"At  the  end  of  a  few  weeks,"  continued  the  Colonel's 
wife,  "be  asked  her  hand  in  legal  marriage.  She  gave  it 
to  him,  and  since  that  day  there  has  been  no  happier 
wedded  couple  in  the  world. 

"But  this  was  a  great  exception  to  a  terrible  rule. 
Had  he  never  seen  her  she  would  have  been  kept  a  few 
weeks  longer  in  her  prison  room,  and  then,  despairing  of 
any  other  fate,  would  probably  have  accepted  a  place 
among  the  painted  women  who  lived  below  without  re- 
straint, and  gone  to  the  end  of  the  career  thus  opened. 

"  Go  to  London!  Penniless,  friendless!  Tell  your  girl 
friend  to  go  to  the  grave,  rather! " 

Col.  Wainwright  returned  at  this  juncture,  and  Mar- 
garet made  a  closer  inspection  of  him  than  she  had 
hitherto  done.  The  whole  scene  of  his  meeting  with  his 
wife  came  vividly  before  her  mind's  eye.  She  saw  him 
stoop  and  kiss  the  face  held  up  to  him,  with  the  courtly 
fashion  that  had  been  so  well  described. 

A  few  minutes  later  she  excused  herself  and  went  to 
her  lonely  room. 

To  London?  No,  she  conld  not  go  to  London.  Where, 
then?  It  was  a  dreadful  problem,  and  she  fell  asleep 
some  hours  later  without  solving  it. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  75 


CHAPTER  VII. 

GORDON  OCCUPIES  HIS  TIMES. 

• 

Gordon  Hayne  was  a  rich  young  man.  He  had  in- 
herited a  fortune  from  his  grandfather  that  had  grown 
rapidly  in  the  hands  of  honest  and  astute  trustees  during 
his  minority.  In  the  eyes  of  the  world  he  was  a  lucky 
young  fellow,  and  one  to  whom  fate  had  brought  only 
good.  But  if  it  was  very  clear  that  he  had  no  habits 
that  would  be  called  dissipated,  it  was  equally  certain 
that  he  devoted  himself  to  no  serious  object.  He  did 
not  drink  to  excess,  nor  gamble,  nor  squander  his  money 
in  any  manner;  on  the  other  hand,  as  has  been  intimated 
in  the  first  chapter  of  this  storj7,  he  had  an  attraction  to- 
ward women  that  had  coupled  his  name  with  a  number 
of  scandals  occurring  in  and  about  .Boston. 

Mrs.  Walden  Bruce  had  heard  rumors  of  these  things, 
and  had  taken  some  pains  to  inquire  about  them;  but 
had  found  no  proof  that  Mr.  Hayne  was  guilty  in  a  sin- 
gle instance.  No  direct  charge  had  been  brought  against 
him  by  any  aggrieved  woman  or  her  friends.  The  prin- 
cipal thing  said  was,  whenever  there  was  a  new  instance 
of  frailty  to  be  discussed, "  Isn't  that  the  woman  Gordon 
Hayne  has  been  calling  on  so  frequently?  "  Or,  "  You 
remember  her;  she  was  with  Mr.  Hayne  in  a  box  party  at 
the  Boston  Theatre  when  Patti  was  last  there." 

Mrs.  Bruce  had  known  the  Hayne  family  from  her 
girlhood.  She  did  not  mean  to  put  the  seal  of  her  dis- 
approval on  Gordon,  with  all  that  would  imply,  unless 
was  something  tangible  against  him.  So  she  con- 


Y4  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOWD/ 

tinued  to  invite  him  to  her  receptions,  and  even  to  dine 
with  herself  and  daughter  at  occasional  intervals. 

He  was  an  attractive  man  to  women,  certainly.  With 
his  handsome  face,  his  polished  manner,  and  a  certain 
boyish  impetuosity  for  his  twenty-four  years,  he  was 
liked  by  all  of  his  acquaintances.  In  the  presence  of 
Mrs.  Bruce  he  was  courtly,  deferential,  scrupulous. 
Never  did  he  descend  in  the  slightest  degree  to  familiar- 
ity, although  she  did  everything  to  make  him  feel  fully 
at  home.  When  Ida  alone  was  in  the  room  his  manner 
changed  a  little,  and  became  one  of  a  sort  of  devotion, 
still  well  within  the  range  of  courteous  propriety.  There 
had  long  been  that  in  his  attitude  which  implied  more 
than  ordinary  liking,  and  yet  the  sentiment  that  seemed 
to  animate  him  had  never  been  put  into  definite  words. 
It  was  believed  by  most  of  those  who  knew  him  that  he 
was  not  a  marrying  man;  that  his  attentions  to  any  mem- 
ber of  the  fair  sex  were  not  the  prelude  to  an  intended 
declaration  of  a  desire  to  wed. 

Gordon  knew,  for  instance,  of  the  popular  supposition 
that  Ida  and  Kingdon  Dale  were  destined  for  each  other, 
long  before  the  date  at  which  our  story  opened.  He  was 
<a  friend  of  both  parties;  he  made  no  move  to  prevent, 
the  consummation  of  the  plans  concerning  them.  He 
went  about  with  Kingdon,  in  the  city  and  at  his  home, 
and  believed  in  his  heart  that  he  was  Mr.  Dale's  most 
esteemed  masculine  friend. 

And  yet,  whenever  Gordon  was  alone  with  Ida  Bruce, 
there  was  something  in  his  actions  which  said,  as  plainly 
as  words,  "  I  envy  that  fellow;  3  shall  never  know  what 
it  is  to  IDC  perfectly  happy  again  if  you  carry  out  this 
scheme  of  becoming  his  wife." 

Gordon  Hayne  is  a  type  that  will  be  recognized  by  all 
who  are  familiar  with  the  social  life  of  this  generation. 


THEIR  MARJUAGJE   BOND.  75 

It  is  a  type  that  does  more  harm,  perhaps,  than  the  out- 
and-out  roue,  whose  reputation  is  undisputed,  and  who  is 
yet  admitted  to  the  best  society  and  has  an  opportunity 
unsurpassed  to  plant  his  dangerous  seed. 

On  the  evening  of  the  reception  at  Mrs.  Bruce's,  to 
which  allusion  has  been  made,  Mr.  Hayne  was  in  a  state 
of  mind  into  which  he  frequently  worked  himself.  He 
was  wildly  jealous  of  his  friend,  Dale,  on  account  of  the 
pretty  piece  of  feminity,  with  which  the  latter's  name 
was  constantly  allied. 

He  regarded  Ida  from  all  corners  of  the  rooms  in 
which  the  reception  was  held.  It  seemed  to  him  that  she 
was  a  thousand  times  more  lovely  that  night  than  he  had 
ever  imagined  her.  He  marked  the  brightness  of  her  eyes, 
the  softness  of  her  expression,  the  grace,  the  ineffable 
grace,  of  her  pose.  He  followed  with  greedy  eyes  the 
outlines  of  her  superb  form,  which  the  past  few  years 
had  constantly  rendered  more  and  more  alluring.  He 
noticed  with  what  discretion  and  taste  she  was  garbed, 
no  woman  in  the  house  approaching  her  in  that  respect, 
though  many  had  ten  times  the  cost  of  her  clothing  upon 
them. 

Several  times,  overcome  by  his  emotion,  Mr.  Hayne 
wandered  to  the  side  of  the  fair  girl,  and  exchanged  a 
word  or  two  with  her.  The  feeling  that  possessed  him 
was  made  apparent  to  her  quick  mind  in  every  tremor  of 
his  tones,  in  every  lineament  of  his  face.  He  loved  her! 
It  could  make  no  difference  in  her  life,  for  her  husband 
had  been  selected  from  her  cradle,  but  she  felt  deep 
sympathy  for  a  man  whose  estimate  of  her  charms  was 
thus  plainly  portrayed. 

She  had  had  occasion  before  to  feel  a  strange  thrill  at 
a  stray  word  from  his  tongue,  a  random  look  in  his  coun- 
tenance. It  is  in  the  nature  of  a  young  woman  to  like 


76  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

admiration.  Ida  was  too  inexperienced  to  estimate  this 
particular  article  at  its  true  value.  She  did  not  know 
that  while  Gordon  Hayne  allowed  himself  the  supreme 
luxury  of  his  misery,  he  would  not  have  married  her 
then  had  the  opportunity  heen  presented  to  him. 

No,  he  used  often  to  say  to  himself,  he  was  not  going 
to  be  tied  to  any  woman,  however  much  he  might  like 
her.  It  was  his  dearest  pleasure  to  make  a  woman 
feel  that  she  had  made  an  impression  on  his  heart  that 
would  be  indelible,  and  to  know  that  he  had  made  an 
answering  one  on  hers. 

He  had  a  list  of  women  who  blamed  themselves  for 
inflicting  ruin  on  his  life — who  said  in  their  hearts, 
"  Poor  fellow!  If  I  had  used  him  better  he  would  be  a 
different  man.  He  ought  not  to  be  blamed  for  anything 
he  does,  since  it  was  his  love  for  me  that  unbalanced 
him!" 

There  were  married  women,  too,  who  used  to  dream  of 
this  pretty  boy,  perhaps  at  that  moment  tearing  his  hair, 
metaphorically,  in  rage  at  the  happiness  of  his  success- 
ful rival.  Their  hearts  saddened  as  they  thought  of  the 
cruelty  they  had  shown  to  him,  when,  as  a  plain  matter 
of  fact,  a  steam-engine  could  never  have  drawn  an  offer 
of  legal  marriage  to  one  of  them. 

But  they  felt  what  he  wanted  them  to  feel;  and  when 
he  met  them  their  regrets  were  accentuated  by  discreet- 
ly veiled  allusions  to  the  past,  or  glances  arrested  just 
when  about  to  be  shot  into  their  bright  eyes. 

It  was  a  favorite  amusement  of  this  man  to  visit  the 
Braces  frequently  after  Kingdon  Dale  went  abroad.  He 
generally  called  first  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Dale,  Sr.,  who 
was  very  glad  to  see  him,  as,  indeed,  he  was  almost  any 
friend,  in  the  lonesome  condition  in  which  his  infirmi- 
ties and  his  son's  absence  left  him.  Sometimes  Gordon 


THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND.  77 

took  lunch  with  that  gentleman,  and  then  strolled  over 
to  Mrs.  Bruce's  at  three  or  four  o'clock,  remaining  to 
dinner,  as  he  was  always  importuned  to  do. 

He  had  no  regular  occupation,  and  the  usual  business 
hours  of  men  of  his  age  put  no  hamper  on  his  move- 
ments. Coming  from  Mr.  Edward  Dale's,  the  conversa- 
tion "between  him  and  the  widow  reverted  naturally  to 
Kingdon,  and  in  her  presence  there  was  no  indication  of 
the  real  reason  that  accounted  for  his  call.  He  was 
known  to  be  an  intimate  of  young  Mr.  Dale,  and  one  who 
had  the  pleasure  of  frequent  letters  from  him. 

The  fact  that  the  traveler  wrote  less  frequently  to  his 
fiancee  and  that  the  letters  received  by  her  were  much 
briefer  than  would  have  been  expected  was  never  di- 
vulged. Mrs.  Bruce  had  settled  it  in  her  own  mind  that 
the  marriage  with  her  daughter  was  something  that 
could  not  be  set  aside,  and  that  time  would  bring  the 
young  couple  into  the  harmonious  relations  that  are 
supposed  to,  and  sometimes  do,  follow  that  ceremony. 
She  had  counseled  Ida  to  await  the  result  with  patience, 
and,  being  so  completely  under  the  influence  of  her 
mother,  the  girl  was  doing  very  well  in  this  regard.  But 
in  the  absence  of  her  future  lord,  it  was  agreeable  to  have 
so  often  the  society  of  one  whose  manners  were  delight- 
ful, whose  conversation  was  pleasant,  and  whose  admira- 
tion for  herself  was  kept  within  the  limits  of  decorum. 

Gordon  was  so  veil  known  as  the  particular  friend  of 
her  engaged  lover  that  his  presence  in  the  house,  or  in 
the  walks  which  they  took  together  in  the  neighborhood, 
could  not  excite  the  faintest  criticism  in  the  breast  of  the 
most  particular  Grundy  among  her  set. 

Several  times  he  came  out  in  the  evening,  and  brought 
Sidney  Brooks  with  him.  Gordon  had  divined  that  Miss 
Ida  possessed  more  than  usual  interest  for  the  young  at- 


7^  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

torney.  Brooks  was  such  a  very  virtuous  fellow,  and  so 
diffident  in  the  presence  of  women,  that  it  was  a  pleasure 
to  watch  him  under  these  circumstances.  The  slightest 
direct  question  hrought  a  color  to  his  pale  face  that 
was  worth  seeing.  Sidney's  usual  role  was  that  of  the 
silent  listener,  and  when  he  was  forced  to  take  part  in 
the  conversation,  with  Ida  as  another  participant  in  it, 
Hayne  declared  to  himself  many  times  that  it  was  quite 
as  good  as  a  play  to  see  him.  One  of  these  evenings  Sid- 
ney found  courage  to  speak  of  his  own  accord,  and  to  an- 
nounce that  it  was  his  intention  to  take  a  business  trip 
to  Europe  the  following  week. 

Now,  to  Gordon,  Brooks  was  only  a  briefless  barrister, 
who  managed  in  some  mysterious  way  to  pay  his  office 
rent  and  to  live  in  a  desolate  pair  of  rooms  in  an  inex- 
pensive part  of  the  city.  It  therefore  interested  him  un- 
commonly to  learn  that  some  person  thought  enough  of 
his  abilities  to  intrust  a  mission  of  this  kind  to  his  care. 
He  pumped  the  facts  out,  discovering  that  a  corporation 
of  prominence  was  the  principal  in  the  affair,  and  that 
the  matter  related  to  a  patent  which  was  being  inter- 
fered with  by  a  German  concern. 

Mrs.  Bruce,  who  had  had  a  liking  from  the  first  for 
Brooks,  expressed  her  congratulations  in  a  charming 
way,  remarking  that  he  must  feel  highly  pleased  at  being 
•elected  in  a  case  which  was  plainly  one  requiring  un- 
usual tact,  while  Ida  smiled  the  same  sentiment  without 
opening  her  pretty  mouth. 

"Oh,  it's  just  because  I  happen  to  be  a  bit  of  a 
linguist,  I  guess,'*  stammered  Sidney.  "  It  will  be  nece?- 
sary  to  speak  German,  Italian  and  perhaps  Spanish,  and 
our  leading  lawyers  are  seldom  equipped  with  those 
qualifications." 

"But   where  the  clickens  did  yon  learn  those  Ian- 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  79 

guages?"  asked  Hayne,  with  undisguised  frankness.  **  I 
never  knew  that  you  could  do  anything  of  the  kind." 

"  Why,  I  spent  two  years  in  Buenos  Ayres,"  was  the 
reply,  "  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to  live  there  without 
acquiring  Spanish  and  Italian.  The  German  I  picked 
up  largely  by  myself,  together  with  French." 

"  We  never  shall  know,"  laughed  Gordon,  addressing 
the  ladies,  "the  full  extent  of  this  man's  erudition. 
I  am  constantly  being  surprised  at  something  about  him. 
I  don't  think  he  can  have  much  to  learn.  But  a  fellow 
who  hides  in  his  rooms  or  his  office  and  sticks  to  his 
books  must  acquire  an  awful  lot  of  wisdom  in  time." 

There  was  a  quiet  ripple  around  the  party  at  this  sally, 
and  then  Mrs.  Bruce  remarked  that  it  was  possible  Mr. 
Brooks  might  meet  Mr.  Dale  while  away. 

"  I  hardly  think  it  likely,  but  I  should  be  glad  to  hope 
so,"  said  Brooks.  "  If  I  happen  to  get  anywhere  in  his 
vicinity  I  shall  certainly  go  out  of  my  way  to  meet  him." 

The  talk  here  wandered  to  the  road  that  Kingdon  had 
taken  and  the  possible  routes  by  which  he  would  return. 
Hayne,  it  was  clear  to  Sidney,  knew  more  of  these  things 
than  did  either  of  the  ladies,  and  he  drew  some  con- 
clusions from  this  fact.  He  drew  more  yet  from  his  ob- 
servation of  the  standing  which  Hayne  had  in  the  house- 
hold, but  not  being  able  to  grasp  the  character  of  his 
friend  fully — his  knowledge  of  social  life  being  limited 
— he  understood  the  situation  imperfectly. 

If  Brooks  had  definitely  diagnosed  the  case  as  it  lay  in 
his  mind,  he  might  have  concluded  that  Gordon  had 
offered  his  hand  to  Ida  at  some  time  in  the  past  and  been 
refused;  or  that  he  would  have  done  so  but  for  the 
knowledge  that  this  would  be  the  result.  As  to  the  con- 
duct of  Mr.  Dale,  there  was  a  mystery  that  he  could  not 
fathom,  and  which  he  waited  patiently  for  the  future  to 


80  THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND. 

reveal.  Not  that  he  was  inquisitive  about  it,  but  it  in- 
terested his  mind,  naturally  given  to  weighing  evidence. 
And,  besides,  in  an  honorable,  high-minded  way  that 
belonged  to  his  nature,  he  was  much  interested  in  Ida 
Bruce. 

Once  or  twice  he  found  himself  alone  with  her,  and, 
although  he  had  a  fear,  of  the  species  called  "stage 
fright,"  he  kept  the  knowledge  of  his  alarm  from  her  en- 
tirely. She  could  not  have  comprehended  how  any  man 
in  the  world  could  hold  her  in  awe.  Mr.  Brooks  was 
somewhat  older  than  she,  and  much  wiser.  He  was  a 
little  odd,  to  be  sure,  and  perhaps  not  much  accustomed 
to  the  society  of  women;  but  beyond  this  no  special  im- 
pression was  made  on  her  mind. 

As  to  Gordon  Hayne,  Ida  thought  of  him  a  great  deal. 
He  managed  to  make  her  believe  him  unhappy,  and  to 
blame  herself  in  an  indefinite  way  as  being  the  cause. 
He  also  enlisted  her  sympathies  by  vague  allusions  to  the 
absent  lover,  and  expressions  of  dumb  wonder  that  any 
man  who  had  the  happiness  to  hold  her  promise  of  mar- 
riage could  let  a  mere  business  reason  tear  him  from  her 
side. 

Gordon  did  not  say  this  in  so  many  words.  It  was  not 
his  method.  He  only  let  her  know  that  he  felt  it — that 
it  gave  him  pain — that  it  passed  his  comprehension. 

And  she  thought  him  very  kind,  and  that  his  repres- 
sion of  what  was  blighting  his  life  evinced  the  most  re- 
markable fealty  to  his  absent  friend. 

Ida  might  have  learned  to  love  Mr.  Hayne — in  which 
case,  had  marriage  been  the  question,  he  would  certain- 
ly have  found  meana  to  terminate  the  acquaintance — but 
that  she  was  a  good  girl,  who  implicitly  obeyed  her 
mother.  Mrs.  Bruce  had  settled  upon  the  man  her 
daughter  was  to  wed,  and  the  idea  of  departing  from 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  81 

the  programme  never  occurred  to  tlie  younger  woman. 
It  was  rather  dull  waiting  for  Kingdon,  it  raight  be 
duller  yet  when  she  had  achieved  him;  but  2ier  path  was 
plainly  marked  out  for  her. 


THE1K  MARRIAGE  BONO. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

"KISS  ME,  KINGDON!" 

Knowing  nothing  of  what  was  passing  in  the  mind  of 
Margaret  Rivers,  Kingdon  Dale  went  to  his  sleepless  bed 
that  night,  and  tossed  restlessly  for  hours.  He 
felt  the  time  drawing  near  when  he  must  either  bid  a 
final  adieu  to  the  girl  he  had  come  to  love  so  dearly,  or 
secure  her  company  a  little  longer  by  a  subterfuge  or  di- 
rect deceit.  A  day  or  two  was  the  limit  of  their  close  ac- 
quaintance unless  he  could  arrange  some  plan  to  retails 
her. 

The  next  morning  Margaret  surprised  him  by  saying 
that  she  had  concluded  not  to  go  to  England.  He  stared 
at  her  stupidly,  for  he  knew  no  other  course  open,  un* 
less  she  was  to  accept  his  proposal  to  visit  America;  but, 
he  said  nothing,  for  in  her  statement  he  saw  a  gleam  of 
light  along  his  own  path. 

Where  was  she  going,  then?  he  asked  her.  And  she 
replied,  as  calmly  as  she  could,  that  she  was  going  to 
Gibraltar,  where  she  knew  several  people,  with  whom 
ehe  intended  to  make  a  short  stay. 

"But  after  that?*'  he  asked,  with  clouded  brow. 
<f  You  will  not  stay  forever  at  Gibraltar.  Oh,  Margaret! 
if  you  would  only  do  the  wisest  thing,  and  go  to  America 
with  me!" 

She  regarded  him  with  piercing  eyes,  and  his  gaze  fell 
before  their  fires.  The  wisest  thing?  Could  he  honest- 
ly maintain  that  it  was  the  wisest  thing  for  her  to  take 
that  long  journey  with  a  chance  acquaintance  met  on 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  S3 

shipboard — with  all  the  risks  that  it  implied?  Still,  on 
the  other  hand,  what  could  she  do  if  she  remained  in 
Europe?  He  tried  to  argue  to  himself  that  the  one 
course  was  at  least  as  likely  to  benefit  her  as  the  other. 

"  I  will  go  with  you  as  far  as  Gibraltar/'  she  said,  gen- 
tly. "I  will  see  my  friends  there;  and  then — we  will 
talk  about  the  rest." 

It  was  at  least  something.  He  was  not  to  lose  her 
quite  as  soon  as  he  had  feared.  There  would  be  a  few 
more  days  for  them  to  be  together,  and,  perhaps — who 
could  say? — she  might  change  her  mind.  The  spirits  of 
the  young  man  rose  perceptibly.  Margaret  was  going  to 
take  another  journey  with  him — under  his  protection. 
She  would  leave  her  past  life  there  in  Malta,  and  begin 
an  essentially  new  one  on  the  steamer  that  sailed  toward 
the  west.  There  would  be  several  days  in  which  they 
would  be  alone  together,  and  in  that  time  he  could  bring 
all  his  influence  to  bear.  He  accepted  her  decision  with 
joy,  and,  as  there  was  no  longer  occasion  for  delay,  he 
went  at  once  to  the  steamship  office  and  bought  two 
tickets  for  Gibraltar. 

When  he  returned,  and  she  took  out  her  slender  purse 
to  repay  him,  he  said  she  had  best  wait  until  they  were 
on  board,  jokingly  remarking  that  there  were  other  little 
bills  he  would  have  to  settle  for  her,  like  the  conveyance 
of  herself  and  her  boxes  to  the  boat.  He  wanted  to  say 
something  to  brighten  her  cheek  a  little,  and,  indeed,  his 
own.  The  gayety  of  his  spirits  was  tempered  by  the 
nearness  of  the  time  when  he  would  have  to  set  his  face 
toward  the  setting  sun,  and  breast  the  waves  of  the  At- 
lantic alone  once  more. 

Among  their  acquaintances  at  the  hotel,  Mrs.  Wain- 
wright  was  one  of  the  kindest  in  her  expressions  when 
they  came  to  say  good-bye.  She  drew  Margaret  aside 


84  THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND. 

and  again  warned  her  against  letting  her  "  friend  "  go 
unprotected  to  London,  seeming  much  pleased  when  the 
girl  replied  that  she  should  advise  her  not  to  go  there 
under  any  circumstances.  She  asked  questions  about 
Mr.  Dale,  with  a  roguish  look,  intimating  that  the  liking 
between  the  young  people  was  stronger  than  that  of  or- 
dinary fellow-travelers.  And,  although  Miss  Rivera 
shook  her  head  decidedly,  the  Colonel's  wife  murmured, 
"A  husband  like  that  is  what  an  orphan  girl  like  you 
needs  most.  Don't  be  foolish,  my  dear  child,  or  too 
backward,  if  such  an  opportunity  comes  your  way." 

With  her  head  full  of  matrimonial  ideas,  she  also 
found  time  to  say  to  Kingdon,  "  What  a  lovely  little  lady 
Miss  Rivers  is!  I  congratulate  you  on  making  this  short 
voyage  with  her.  Were  I  a  man  and  single  I  would  make 
it  a  much  longer  one,  if  I  could." 

He  wished  for  the  moment  that  they  had  another  week 
at  Malta,  for  he  might  have  told  his  story  to  Mrs.  Wain- 
wright,  and  enlisted  her  efforts  in  his  behalf;  but  the 
steamer  was  about  to  sail,  and  everything  had  been  sent 
on  board.  He  entered  the  carriage  with  his  companion, 
and  they  were  driven  down  the  steep  street  to  the  water- 
aide.  An  hour  later  the  steamer  was  headed  for  the 
southernmost  point  in  Spain,  and  he  had  Margaret  en- 
tirely to  himself. 

The  three  days  between  the  two  great  naval  stations  of 
the  British  Empire  in  the  Mediterranean  were  passed  in 
the  quietest  manner  by  the  young  couple.  Nothing  in 
the  way  of  further  entreaty  that  Margaret  should  ac- 
company him  to  the  United  States  passed  Kingdon's 
lips.  They  said  remarkably  little  to  each  other,  in  fact, 
although  they  were  hardly  separated  during  the  voyage, 
except  in  their  sleeping  hours. 

But  one  thought  was   in   both    their  minds — they 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  85 

dreaded  separation,  and  wished  there  was  some  feasible 
way  to  prevent  it. 

Margaret  thought  also,  frequently,  of  the  tale  the 
Colonel's  wife  had  told  about  the  girl  who  went  to  Lon- 
don. She  did  not  dwell  so  much  on  the  experiences  of 
the  month  or  two  when  she  was  held  a  prisoner,  but  on 
the  night  when  her  handsome  cavalier  came  to  her 
rescue.  She  saw  the  officer,  in  her  mind's  eye,  kneeling 
by  the  bedside,  kissing  the  tearstained  cheek  so  gently 
that  he  did  not  disturb  the  slumbers  of  the  tired  girl. 
She  saw  her  wrapped  in  his  greatcoat,  folded  in  his  arms 
and  carried  shoeless  and  stockingless  out  into  the  wintry 
night. 

There  was  something  fascinating  in  the  story  to  the 
daughter  of  Captain  Eivers.  If  all  men  were  like  Colonel 
"Wain wright!  she  thought. 

Marriage  was  never  as  interesting  as  untrammeled 
love,  certainly  not  in  novels,  of  which  Margaret  had  read 
many.  Nobody  cared  to  tell  of  the  days  spent  in  the 
harbor  after  an  exciting  voyage  had  finished.  There 
were  the  risks  of  the  sea,  of  course,  the  danger  of  the 
waves  and  storms,  while  the  harbor,  landlocked  and 
calm,  brought  safety  to  every  passenger.  But  the  free- 
dom, the  exhilaration,  the  excitement — these  belonged 
to  the  open  ocean! 

Mr.  Dale  had  not  heard  the  story  that  proved  so  inter- 
esting to  his  fair  companion,  but  he  was  trying  to  weave 
one  of  his  own,  with  her  as  the  central  figure.  He  did 
not  know  very  well  how  to  do  it.  He  realized  that  each 
revolution  of  the  ship's  propeller  carried  them  nearer  the 
shore  where,  according  to  their  present  plans,  they  must 
separate.  What  would  be  the  future  of  each  of  them 
when  leagues  of  salt  water  rolled  be.bye«n?  For  her  it 


86  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

could  not  be  very  bright;  for  him  the  outlook  was  ex- 
ceedingly dismal. 

"  I  wish  you  would  let  me  talk  about  myself  a  little," 
he  broke  out,  on  the  last  evening  before  they  reached 
Gibraltar. 

"About  yourself?"  she  repeated. 

"  Yes.  About  my  unhappy  engagement,  which  I  have 
determined,  whatever  you  may  do,  to  break." 

She  let  him  finish  the  sentence,  and  when  he  paused 
for  an  answer  she  did  not  speak. 

"  It  is  cruel  to  treat  me  as  you  are  doing,  Margaret," 
he  protested.  "You  have  taught  me  to  love  you,  and 
yet  you  intend  to  drive  me  to  a  marriage  I  had  regarded 
with  dread  even  before  we  met.  I  am  thoroughly  in 
earnest  in  what  I  say.  If  I  never  see  you  again  after  I 
leave  Gibraltar,  if  I  never  hear  whether  you  are  dead  or 
living,  I  will  not  marry  Ida  Bruce!  I  think  it  would  be 
a  crime." 

Again  he  was  not  interrupted,  much  to  his  surprise. 
He  had  hurried  in  his  speech,  thinking  that  she  would 
refuse  to  let  him  finish. 

"Your  father?"  she  said,  simply. 

"  There  is  a  limit  to  filial  obligations,"  he  replied.  "  If 
my  father  bade  me  put  my  arm  in  the  fire,  or  swallow  a 
deadly  poison,  would  it  be  my  duty  to  obey?  I  have  re- 
belled against  this  plan  of  his  for  years,  and  now  I  sim- 
ply cannot  carry  it  out.  I  love  you,  Margaret,  and  you 
alone.  Without  you  life  will  be  barren  and  bitter.  I 
will  not  make  it  unbearable  by  marrying  another  whom 
I  actually  dislike." 

There  was  a  pause,  during  which  Miss  Rivers'  gaze 
was  fixed  on  a  point  far  out  at  sea. 

"Inclination  and  duty  frequently  conflict  in  this 
world/'  said  Margaret,  at  last.  "  Is  it  not  possible  that 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND.  87 

in  thinking  of  this  matter  you  overestimate  your  dislike 
to  Miss  Bruce?  Possibly,  thrown  together  as  closaJy  as 
we  have  been,  you  also  overestimate '  your  fondness  for 
me.  And,  between  these  two,  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  you  think  too  lightly  of  your  duty  to  your  father. 
Besides  this,  there  is  your  fiancee  to  consider.  Her  en- 
gagement to  you  is  announced.  Her  wedding  clothes" — 
the  sweet  voice  began  to  tremble — "are  being  made. 
Can  you  comprehend  the  blow  to  her  if  you  violate  your 
promise  now?" 

He  was  plunged  into  the  deepest  gloom  by  her  ex- 
pressions. All  of  these  things  had  passed  through  his 
mind  more  than  once;  but  arranged  in  order  and  by  her 
they  had  new  and  more  terrible  meanings. 

"  It  only  presents  itself  to  me  in  this  light,"  he  said: 
"  Should  one  completely  ruin  his  life  because  he  has 
made  a  rash  and  foolish  promise?" 

"  If  the  breaking  of  that  promise  ruins  the  lives  of 
others — yes,"  she  replied,  gravely. 

"  Oh,  it  is  well  enough  to  say  that,  and  it  sounds  very 
noble,"  answered  Dale,  "  but  one  has  to  be  in  this  posi- 
tion before  he  realizes  what  it  means." 

She  put  a  hand  frankly  into  his  and  turned  her  eyes 
full  upon  him. 

"  I  know  what  it  is,  and  I  am  doing  precisely  what  I 
ask  you  to  do,"  she  said.  "  My  life  is  ruined  if  you  go 
out  of  it.  Yet  I  say  to  you,  be  true  to  your  plighted 
word,  though  it  breaks  my  heart  and  yours." 

He  took  her  hand  and  clasped  it  close  in  his  own.  It 
was  dark  and  no  one  was  near  them  on  the  deck.  There 
was  a  deliciousness  about  the  contact  that  he  could  not 
resist. 

"  There  is  one  other  chance,"  he  whispered.  "  What 
if  I  went  to  her  and  told  her  that  I  did  not  love  her— 


88  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

that  I  knew  we  should  never  be  happy  together?    If  she 
released  me  then,  would  you  still  refuse  me?" 

In  the  long  pause  that  followed  he  could  hear  the 
splashing  of  the  waters  about  the  steamer's  sides  and  the 
rustle  of  the  sails  overhead. 

"  She  never  would  release  you!"  cried  Margaret,  with 
a  gasp.  "  No  woman  who  had  your  promise  to  wed  her 
could  give  you  up!" 

».    It  was  ecstasy  mixed  with  pain  to  hear  her  talk  thus. 
t  "  If  you  were  in  her  place,  and  knew  I  never  should 
love  you,  would  you  not  let  me  go?"  he  asked. 

"  Not  for  worlds  present  and  to  come!"  she  answered, 
fervently. 

He  trembled  before  her  earnest  avowal. 

"  Think  it  all  over,"  he  continued.  "  A  husband  who 
felt  aversion  for  you,  who  adored  another — " 

"But  he  would  be  mine!"  she  interrupted.  "No,  I 
am  sure  I  would  not  surrender  you,  and  I  believe,  as 
time  passed  on,  I  should  be  able  to  make  you  forget  the 
absent  one." 

"  Ah,"  he  cried,  "  you  do  not  know  me!" 

"I  am  afraid,"  she  smiled,  sadly,  "  you  do  not  know 
yourself." 

It  was  hopeless  to  alter  her  decision,  but  he  breathed 
a  blessing  on  her  head  when  she  put  his  hand  to  her  lips 
at  parting  for  the  night,  and  kissed  it  warmly. 

The  next  day  they  would  be  at  Gibraltar,  and  perhaps 
before  another  night  his  steamer  for  the  west  would 
bear  him  away  from  her.  That  kiss  on  his  hand  waa  the 
sweetest  memory  he  could  take  with  him. 

At  daylight  they  sailed  into  the  harbor,  and  Mr.  Dale 
found  Margaret  already  dressed  and  on  the  deck  when  he 
went  up  to  view  the  fortress  and  the  town.  Hotel  people 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  89 

who  came  on  board  told  him  the  boat  in  which  he  ex« 
pected  to  leave  the  place  had  not  yet  arrived,  and  was  not 
expected  till  the  day  following.  He  thought  Margaret 
seemed  as  pleased  as  he  when  he  brought  her  this  news, 
and  he  wished  with  all  his  heart  that  she  was  not  so 
stubborn  in  her  ideas.  It  was  arranged  that  they  should 
go  together  to  the  Eoyal  Hotel  and  take  breakfast,  after 
which  she  would  make  inquiries  for  the  friends  of  whom 
she  had  spoken. 

"  One  suite,  I  presume,"  said  the  hotel  clerk  to  Dale, 
as  the  couple  stood  together  at  his  counter. 
"  No,  two,"  said  Kingdon,  reddening. 
"I  beg  your  pardon,"  was  the  reply,  as  the  natural 
mistake  was  corrected.     He  had  supposed  them  married. 
"Have  them  near  together,  if  possible,"  said  Miss 
Rivers. 

Her  companion  started  with  astonishment  at  the  sug- 
gestion. 

"  Certainly.  Connected,  if  you  like,"  said  the  affable 
clerk,  who  now  thought  he  had  hit  upon  the  right  re- 
lation of  the  parties.  They  were,  of  course,  brother  and 
sister. 

"  That  will  be  best,"  came  from  the  girl's  lips,  and  a 
second  shock  thrilled  the  young  man's  nerves. 

"Twenty-seven,  twenty-eight,"  was  the  direction 
given  to  the  bellboy,  and  the  couple  were  shown  to  some 
pleasant  rooms  on  the  second  floor. 

Ashamed  of  the  thoughts  that  followed  this  simple 
conversation,  Dale  drew  himself  together,  and  began  to 
discuss  the  usual  things  which  interest  travelers  in  a 
town  new  to  both  of  them.  From  the  windows  of  his 
parlor  they  could  see  the  street,  the  harbor,  the  ships  at 
anchor  and  in  motion.  From  hers,  as  they  soon  found, 
the  frowning  walls  of  the  great  rock  were  visible.  He 


90  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

wandered  with  her  through  the  two  suites  with  a  freedom 
that  she  seemed  to  encourage,  talking  of  the  strength 
of  the  fort,  the  size  of  its  armament,  the  value  it  was  to 
England,  and  the  manner  in  which  that  nation  obtained 
possession  of  it.  Soon,  however,  a  lad  came  up  to  say 
that  breakfast  was  served,  and  they  went  down  together 
and  partook  of  chops  and  coffee,  like  two  sworn  com- 
panions who  had  no  differences. 

"  I  will  ask  at  the  office  for  the  address  of  your  friends 
here,  if  you  will  give  me  their  names,"  said  Dale,  when 
they  had  once  more  reached  their  rooms.  "And,  much  as 
it  is  against  my  desire,  I  will  go  with  you  when  you  seek 
them  out." 

He  had  found  a  new  courage,  and  he  wanted  to  avail 
himself  of  it  while  it  lasted. 

But,  to  his  surprise,  Miss  Eivers  responded  that  she 
was  in  no  haste;  that  later  in  the  day  would  do  quite  as 
well;  and  that  she  had  rather  sit  there  in  his  parlor  with 
him  and  inspect  the  sights  outside.  Not  displeased,  he 
took  a  seat  by  her  on  a  sofa  which  she  had  turned  to 
command  the  view,  and  discussed  it  with  her  in  low 
tones.  Imperceptibly  his  arm  stole  around  her  form, 
and  when  he  attempted  a  half  apology,  saying  that  it 
might  be  the  last  day  they  would  ever  be  together,  Mar- 
garet seemed  not  to  hear  him  or  to  notice  what  he  was 
doing.  She  talked  rapidly,  and  moved  closer  until  there 
was  no  more  room  to  annihilate. 

"  That  is  a  French  ship,"  he  was  saying.  "  Do  you 
not  see  the  tricolor?  And  that  is  a  Russian — see  the 
enormous  guns  she  carries.  And  that — 

A  head  lay  on  his  shoulder,  and  an  arm  drew  his  face 
downward. 

"What  do  we  care  for  ships?"  said  a  petulant  voice. 
"What  are  their  flags  or  their  guns  to  us?  Kingdon, 
kissmel" 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND.  91 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TWO  ROOMS  CONNECTING. 

The  day  passed  away  and  the  evening  came;  and  still 
Margaret  said  nothing  about  the  friends  she  had  de- 
sired to  see.  At  noon,  when  a  callboy  knocked,  to  ask 
what  they  would  have  for  lunch,  they  looked  surprised. 
They  did  not  want  anything.  It  was  quite  too  soon  to 
think  of  food,  after  their  late  breakfast.  Why,  the  idea 
was  absurd!  In  a  moment  more  they  had  forgotten  the 
disturbance,  and  it  was  only  when  the  shades  of  night 
reminded  them  of  the  waning  day  that  the  thought  of 
dinner  entered  their  minds. 

To  both  of  them  the  day  had  been  the  most  perfect 
one  of  their  lives.  Wrapt  in  thought  and  conversation, 
lost  in  each  other,  no  dark  forebodings  harassed  their 
minds.  Kingdon  had  for  once  laid  his  worries  about  Ida 
Bruce  completely  aside.  Margaret  had  put  far  from  her 
the  black  page  in  her  life  that  yesterday  had  seemed  so 
near. 

For  him,  during  those  moments,  there  was  no  father 
to  chide,  no  fiancee  to  gratify.  For  her  there  was  no 
past,  no  future,  nothing  but  the  delicious  present.  It 
was  the  fullness  of  love,  pure  and  sweet,  between  per- 
sons of  youth  and  health  and  intelligence. 

It  had  not  the  delirium  of  passion,  but  possessed  the 
indefinable  charm  of  undisturbed  serenity. 

When  the  sun  had  sunk  so  low  that  they  could  not 
see  each  other's  faces,  Margaret  was  the  one  to  suggest 
that  the  lamps  be  lighted.  He  responded  softly  that  he 


92  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND 

would  see  to  them  presently,  for  he  dreaded  being,  even 
for  so  brief  a  period,  from  her  side.  He  could  not  think 
of  anything  terrestrial.  The  dream  in  which  he  in- 
dulged was  so  beautiful  he  could  have  wished  it  to  last 
forever.  But  the  callboy  broke  in  upon  them  for  the 
second  time,  with  his  knock  on  the  door,  thinking, 
doubtless,  that  the  interests  of  the  hotel  demanded  that 
people  should  give  him  a  dinner  order,  when  they  had 
not  had  a  mouthful  to  eat  during  the  day.  And  the 
happy  lovers  laughed  gayly  as  they  reflected  that  a  diet 
of  kisses  alone  cannot  sustain  life  beyond  a  certain  space 
of  time. 

"  Eat!  Yes,  I  suppose  we  must,"  said  Kingdon,  when 
he  had  sent  the  boy  away,  with  directions  to  return  in 
ten  minutes.  "  It  seems  ridiculous,  though.  I  never 
was  less  hungry.  Look  over  this  bill  of  fare,  my  dear, 
and  tell  me  what  you  will  have." 

Miss  Rivers  did  not  know  what  she  would  have.  She 
said,  with  him,  that  she  had  not  a  particle  of  appetite, 
that  it  would  be  quite  the  same  to  her  if  dinners  had 
never  been  invented.  She  looked  over  the  items  on  the 
list,  and  ended  by  declaring  that  one  thing  would  suit 
as  well  as  another. 

"  Get  anything  you  please,"  she  said.  "  I  will  try  to 
help  you  eat  it." 

He  decided  on  the  articles,  announcing  them  aloud  to 
her,  and  she  smilingly  said  they  would  never  be  able  to 
eat  half  of  them.  Then  he  wanted  to  know  whether  she 
would  dine  in  the  general  room,  or  have  the  meal  sent  up 
to  his  parlor. 

Suddenly  her  face  paled.  The  story  of  the  Colonel's 
wife,  that  had  lain  dormant  for  hours,  came  back  to  her. 
The  girl  kidnapped  in  London  had  taken  dinner  in  her 
lover's  rooms  the  night  of  her  rescue.  What  might  hap- 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  93 

pen  to  her  after  this  man  sailed  was  something  Mar- 
garet could  only  think  of  with  dread.  While  he  re- 
mained she  would  have  him  near  her,  at  any  cost. 

"Have  it  sent  up  here,"  she  stammered;  and  while 
he  was  giving  the  order  she  wiped  a  few  tears  from  her 
eyes  that  came  there  in  spite  of  her. 

It  was  nearly  an  hour  before  the  meal  arrived,  but 
they  thought  it  less  than  a  quarter  of  that  time.  The 
waiter  spread  it  appetizingly  on  a  centre  table,  and  they 
began  to  eat  and  talk,  as  if  no  one  but  themselves  were 
there,  finding,  to  their  surprise,  that  they  were  rather 
hungry,  after  all.  During  the  absences  of  the  attendant, 
Kingdon  allowed  his  hands  to  stray  across  the  table  and 
envelope  those  of  his  companion.  He  was  still  in  a  daze, 
as  far  as  the  outer  world  was  concerned,  and  she  was 
in  nearly  the  same  condition. 

What  was  most  astonishing  was  the  amount  they  were 
eating.  From  the  first  course  to  the  last  they  did  full 
justice  to  the  viands. 

There  were  wines,  too,  with  the  various  courses,  and 
they  were  not  neglected.  When  the  waiter  had  gone  for 
the  last  time,  Kingdon  took  up  one  of  the  cigars  he  had 
brought,  bit  off  the  end,  and  was  about  to  light  it,  when 
he  threw  the  match  aside,  exclaiming,  "  How  careless  of 
me.  I  had  forgotten  you!" 

She  laughed  at  the  idea,  declaring  that  she  liked  to- 
bacco smoke,  and  that  she  would  be  best  pleased  if  he 
would  go  on.  When  he  demurred,  she  lit  a  match  her- 
self and  put  it  to  the  weed,  breathing  in  the  fumes  he 
soon  emitted,  as  if  they  were  ambrosia. 

"Could  this  only  last  forever!"  whispered  the  trem- 
bling mouth  between  his  salutes. 

" It  can!"  he  cried.  "It  shall!  Forever?  Yes,  and  a 
million  years  after!" 


W:  THBIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

Her  thought  had  stirred  in  him  for  the  moment  the 
memories  of  the  past,  but  he  refused  to  let  them  blight 
his  happiness.  He  had  never  been  so  near  heaven.  He 
had  never  dreamed  that  such  bliss  as  this  was  vouchsafed 
to  mortals. 

The  hours  passed.  At  last,  still  the  one  to  think,  she 
asked  him  what  time  it  was. 

"I  do  not  know,"  he  cried,  gayly.  "And  I  do  not 
care." 

"I  am  afraid,"  she  said,  softly,  "it  is  time  to  sepa- 
rate/' 

"  And  I  am  sure,"  he  answered,  "  that  it  is  time  to  re- 
main together." 

She  sat  still  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  she  spoke 
again. 

"  Oh,  Kingdon!  What  if  they  were  to  come  before 
morning  and  say  your  steamer  had  arrived  ?" 

He  laughed  aloud. 

"  I  should  tell  them  to  let  it  go  on  again." 

"Without  you?" 

"  You  may  be  sure." 

"  But  there  is  not  another  for  two  weeks,"  she  said, 
her  voice  trembling. 

"  I  would  not  care  if  there  were  none  for  two  years," 
he  answered. 

She  did  not  mean  to  let  him  neglect  his  duty,  at  what- 
ever cost  to  herself,  but  she  thrilled  with  delight  to  hear 
him  speak  thus.  It  added  another  joy  to  his  stay  with 
her,  though  it  might  give  another  pang  to  the  hour  of 
parting. 

"  You  know,"  she  said,  with  a  gasp,  "  what  must  be 
the  end  of  all  this?" 

"  There  will  be  no  end,"  he  answered,  smiling. 

"Oh,  yes!"  she  said.    "There  will  be  an  end,  and 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  95 

very  quickly,  too.  We  have  gone  too  far  already.  When 
your  steamer  comes  you  must  join  it.  To  do  otherwise 
is  to  pursue  a  course  you  would  regret  all  your  life." 

"It  has  not  come,"  he  laughed,  "and  we  need  not 
talk  about  it  till  it  does.  Why  should  we  waste  these 
precious  moments  in  forebodings?  Margaret,  tell  me 
once  more  that  you  love  me!" 

Did  she  need  to  tell  him  that?  she  murmured.  Could 
he  doubt  it,  when  he  remembered  where  he  was? 

"  And  yet  you  mean  to  send  me  from  you,  some  time 
within  a  day  or  two,  at  most,  and  never  see  me  again?" 

She  cried  out  in  pain  at  the  blunt  statement,  but  she 
nodded  assent. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "I  love  you,  too,  and  I  refuse  to  go 
without  you.  If  I  take  that  steamer,  you  will  take  it 
with  me.  Since  you  are  so  anxious  I  should  not  neglect 
my  duty,  I  leave  it  to  you  to  make  me  fulfill  it." 

Each  sentence  was  punctuated  with  kisses,  and  his 
mood  was  joyous.  He  refused  to  think  of  any  parting 
from  her. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do?"  he  added.  "Have  you  dis- 
covered some  new  way  to  make  your  fortune?  Let  me  see 
how  rich  you  are."  He  took  her  purse  from  the  mantel, 
where,  after  the  manner  of  women,  she  had  laid  it. 
"  Bah!"  he  cried,  sweeping  the  odd  sovereigns  and  shil- 
lings into  his  pocket,  "  you  haven't  a  penny.  You  are  a 
beggar.  In  a  week  after  I  leave  you  will  be  dying  of 
starvation." 

He  meant  all  this  in  a  spirit  of  jocularity,  but  the 
words  had  a  terrible  meaning  to  Margaret  Eivers.  The 
small  sum  she  possessed  would  have  lasted  her  but  a  few 
weeks  at  most,  and  then  what  had  she  to  expect  but 
starvation,  or — 

Eising  before  her  mind  was  always  the  story  of  the 


96  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

Colonel's  wife,  the  fate  that  lay  open  to  a  friendless  girl 
with  physical  attractions.  It  might  not  be  the  horrors  of 
an  imprisoned  room,  but  it  must  be  the  giving  of  one's 
self  in  exchange  for  the  means  to  sustain  existence. 

"Please  put  my  money  back,"  she  said,  entreatingly. 
"Put  it  back,  and  let  me  settle  with  you  now  for  the 
ticket  you  bought  in  Malta  and  the  hotel  charges  here." 

He  laughed  so  loudly  that  she  feared  he  would  attract 
attention  from  other  persons  in  the  house. 

"  You  are  a  bankrupt,"  he  answered.  "  You  are  un- 
able to  settle  your  debts,"  (he  spread  open  the  empty 
purse)  "  and  must  be  sold  under  the  hammer.  I  shall 
not  admit  other  bidders — I  know  too  much  for  that — I 
am  going  to  have  you  at  my  own  price.  How  much  shall 
I  offer?"  He  placed  one  foot  in  a  chair,  and,  taking  up 
the  empty  purse,  assumed  the  attitude  of  an  auctioneer. 
"  Well,  I  will  start  it  at  my  life,  my  love,  my  hand  in 
marriage,  my  true  devotion  as  long  as  I  live." 

At  the  close,  Kingdon  seemed  impressed  by  the  sig- 
nificance of  the  words  he  had  uttered  so  lightly.  He 
threw  himself  on  his  knees  before  the  girl  and  covered 
her  hands  with  kisses. 

"  Ah,  Margaret,"  he  cried,  "  how  can  you  let  me  keep 
up  this  farce?  To  leave  you  is  to  go  to  everlasting  mia- 
ery!  To  bear  you  with  me,  as  my  promised  wife,  is  to 
open  the  gates  of  paradise.  I  must  save  you  from  your 
own  rashness.  I  must  refuse  to  let  you  perpetrate  your 
folly.  Let  us  end  this  suspense  here  and  now.  Tell  me 
you  will  be  mine!" 

The  lightning-like  change  in  his  manner,  as  well  as  the 
impetuosity  of  his  expressions  affected  Miss  Rivers  pow- 
erfully, but  she  would  not  surrender. 

*  If  you  speak  like  this,  there  is  but  one  course  open 


THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND.  97 

to  me,"  she  replied,  tearfully.    "  I  must  bid  you  good- 
night— and  good-bye." 

He  rose  moodily  to  his  feet,  as  erect  and  almost  aa 
pale  as  a  statue  of  marble. 

"  Very  well  I"  he  said,  huskily.  "  If  it  is  to  be,  let  it  be 
now.  If  you  are  resolved  to  doom  me  to  lifelong  tor- 
ment, I  may  as  well  understand  it  to-night  as  later. 
There  is  no  new  argument  that  I  can  offer." 

Taking  a  handful  of  money  from  his  pocket,  much 
more,  he  was  sure,  than  he  had  abstracted  from  her 
purse,  he  stuffed  it  into  that  receptacle,  and  went  to  the 
other  side  of  the  room.  He  seemed  to  be  waiting  for 
her  to  vacate  the  apartment, 

"  Good-bye,  my — my  friend,"  she  whispered,  when 
five  minutes  had  passed  and  he  did  not  stir. 

"  Good-bye,"  he  replied,  shortly,  without  turning  his 
head. 

"Won't  you  shake  hands  with  me?"  she  whispered, 
after  another  long  pause. 

"No!"  he  exclaimed,  turning  fiercely  toward  her. 
Then  he  melted  a  little  at  sight  of  the  pathetic  figure, 
and  added:  "I  can't,  Margaret;  don't  you  see  I  can't? 
I  must  compose  myself  or  I  shall  go  mad!  Unless — un- 
less," he  said  it  entreatingly,  "you  will  change  your 
mind." 

It  was  the  girl  who  turned  this  time,  more  to  hide  the 
gush  of  salt  drops  to  her  eyes  than  for  any  other  reason. 
A  moment  later  she  had  taken  the  few  things  belonging 
to  her  and  left  the  room,  through  the  door  that  con- 
nected her  apartment  with  his. 

Mr.  Dale  drew  a  long  breath,  and  sank  wearily  into  a 
chair.  He  pulled  out  a  cigar  and  began  to  fill  the  room 
with  smoke.  Finding  that  this  did  not  steady  his 
nerves,  he  got  a  strong  glass  of  liquor  from  a  bottle  that 


98  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

the  servant  had  left  and  drank  it.  Ten  minutes  later  he 
rang  and  asked  the  callboy  to  find  out  whether  any- 
thing had  yet  been  heard  of  the  American  steamer. 
While  the  lad  was  gone  he  busied  himself  with  his  bag- 
gage, tossing  things  into  the  trunk  and  bags  recklessly. 
This  done,  he  took  paper  and  pen  and  wrote  the  name 
of  Miss  Eivers  on  an  envelope,  into  which  he  put  fifty 
pounds  of  English  money,  with  this  line:  "  Take  it.  You 
will  need  it  some  time." 

The  boy  returned  with  the  statement  that  no  news  of 
the  steamer  had  been  received.  She  could  not  now 
enter  and  leave  port  till  some  time  on  the  following 
morning.  The  gentleman  could  sleep  undisturbed,  with 
the  assurance  that  he  would  be  called  at  any  hour  he 
might  name. 

"  Sleep!" 

Much  sleep  he  was  likely  to  get,  in  his  state  of  mind! 
He  told  the  boy  that  he  did  not  need  to  be  called.  He 
wished  heartily  that  the  boat  had  been  in  the  harbor, 
and  that  he  could  have  gone  on  board  of  her.  It  was 
simply  unbearable  in  that  hotel,  with  the  cause  of  all 
his  woes  separated  from  him  only  by  a  brick  partition 
wall. 

u  Damn  it!"  he  ejaculated,  many  times.  The  words 
seemed  to  partially  relieve  the  tension  on  his  mind.  He 
did  not  dare  think  consecutively  of  her.  Still  less  did 
he  wish  to  think  of  home  and  what  awaited  him  there. 
What  a  long  night  it  promised  to  be!  He  looked  at  his 
watch  and  wound  it,  from  the  force  of  habit. 

It  was  only  half-past  ten. 

He  walked  up  and  down  his  room,  in  and  out  of  the 
bed-chamber  beyond.  Oh,  how  long,  how  very  long  the 
night  was!  He  scanned  the  face  of  his  watch  again. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  99 

It  was  now  a  quarter  before  eleven.  He  lay  down  and 
tried  to  sleep. 

He  lay  there  for  hours,  for  days,  for  weeks,  and  then, 
in  desperation,  he  looked  at  his  watch  again,  to  see  what 
new  lie  was  mirrored  on  its  face. 

Half -past  eleven!    What  an  absurdity! 

A  century  passed  after  that,  during  which  he  tossed 
and  turned,  more  sleepless,  if  possible,  than  before. 
Then  a  clock  somewhere  began  striking  and  tolled 
twelve  strokes. 

Sitting  up,  Dale  began  to  curse  the  timepiece  that 
could  utter  such  a  senseless  falsehood.  He  forgot  the 
silence  of  the  place  and  the  distinctness  with  which 
his  voice  resounded  in  the  empty  rooms.  When  he 
stopped,  he  fancied  he  heard  a  new  and  strange  sound, 
like  the  movement  of  soft  feet  on  the  carpet  in  the 
parlor.  Pshaw!  His  brain  was  turned,  he  could  not 
tmst  his  senses. 

Across  the  open  doorway,  faintly  shown  by  the  low- 
ered light,  stole  a  slight  figure — a  human  shape,  and  it 
came  toward  him. 


100  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

CHAPTEK  X. 

MR.  AND  MRS.  TAYLOR, 

It  was  late  the  next  morning  when  Kingdon  Dale 
arose.  He  had  lain  for  more  than  an  hour  after  waking, 
harassed  hy  the  most  horrible  reflections  and  fears.  He 
was  far  from  being  at  heart  a  bad  man.  Could  it  have 
availed  to  blot  out  the  occurrences  of  the  previous  twelve 
hours  he  would  have  sacrificed  every  hope  of  success  that 
had  filled  his  brain.  With  languid  steps  and  pale  feat- 
ures, he  dragged  himself  about  the  room  like  a  man  par- 
tially paralyzed. 

When  Miss  Eivers  returned  to  him,  long  after,  he 
stole  a  glance  at  her  face,  to  see  if  there  was  left  a  single 
gleam  of  pity  for  one  who  had  wronged  her  so  deeply. 
To  his  surprise,  he  noticed  nothing  that  indicated  hate, 
although  her  manner  was  much  more  subdued  than  for- 
merly. Overcome  by  his  emotions,  he  took  a  step  to- 
ward her  and  fell  upon  his  knees  at  her  feet. 

With  the  sweetest  words  of  comfort,  Margaret  chided 
him  for  his  prostrate  position,  and  succeeded  at  last  in 
persuading  him  to  arise  and  talk  with  her.  But  when 
he  pleaded  his  love  in  extenuation  of  his  conduct,  and 
promised  to  take  her  hand  in  marriage  as  soon  as  a 
clergyman  could  be  found,  she  proved  as  obdurate  as 
ever. 

"No  man  in  his  senses,"  she  said,  "would  talk  of  mak- 
ing a  wife  of  a  woman  disgraced  as  I  am.  Your  excite- 
ment lias  turned  your  brain." 

"Don't  talk  like  that  unless  you  intend  to  make  me 
really  ineane,"  he  groaned. 


THEIR   MARRIAGE    BOND.  101 

She  shook  her  head  sorrowfully. 

"  I  don't  know  what  to  say  to  you/'  she  ejaculated, 
"  and  I  wish  you  would  forget  this  disagreeable  subject. 
There  are  some  hours  yet  left  to  us  before  your  steamer 
will  sail.  Must  we  spend  it  all  in  talking  of  matters 
about  which  we  differ?  Why  cannot  we  be  good  friends 
and  part  without  a  quarrel  ?" 

He  demanded  to  know  why  she  thought  he  could  ever 
quarrel  with  her,  why  he  should  ever  be  anything  but 
her  dear,  close  friend.  He  repeated,  in  spite  of  her  en- 
treaties, that  there  was  no  reason  in  the  world  but  her 
stubbornness  why  she  should  not  let  him  call  her  by  the 
name  of  wife  before  the  day  ended.  His  love  for  her 
had  grown  ten  times  greater  since  they  came  to  Gib- 
raltar. He  would  not  leave  her;  he  would  give  up  the 
business  of  his  firm;  he  would  remain  in  Europe;  unless 
she  consented  to  go  to  America  with  him. 

"  Why,"  he  cried,  in  conclusion,  "  you  are  already  my 
wife!  The  ceremony  prescribed  by  the  law  can  hardly 
cement  us  closer  than  we  are.  I  will  listen  to  no  eva- 
sions of  your  duty,  Margaret.  This  is  a  matter  in  which 
I  have  a  right  to  insist." 

"  How  wildly  and  recklessly  unbridled  passion  will 
make  a  man  talk,"  she  said.  "  Your  '  wife,'  indeed!  If 
I  had  promised  you  my  hand,  and  the  hour  of  our  wed- 
ding was  fixed  for  to-day,  I  would  refuse  to  keep  my 
promise  after  what  has  occurred.  Unless  I  could  become 
a  wife  with  the  respect  of  my  husband,  I  never  would 
marry." 

"Oh,  Margaret,"  he  cried,  "what  is  it  you  mean  to  do? 
You  have  confided  to  me  your  situation.  You  are  friend- 
less, penniless,  innocent  of  the  ways  of  the  world.  If  I 
leave  you  here  you  will  fall  a  victim  to  some  miserable 
scamp  and  live  a  life  you  despise  with  a  man  you  hate!" 


102  THEIR   MARRIAGE    BOND. 

She  shivered,  and  he  drew  her  closer  to  his  breait, 
as  if  to  warm  her. 

"  I  realize  the  truth  of  the  picture  you  have  drawn," 
said  she,  after  kissing  him  once  more  to  gain  strength. 
"  I  have  known  it  for  some  days — the  hopelessness  of 
expecting  to  make  a  living  at  any  respectable  employ- 
ment. But,  Kingdon,  the  men  who  are  to  share  my 
smiles  will  not  hold  my  heart  in  their  grasp,  as  you  do. 
I  shall  not  feel  that  fierce  hunger  with  which  you  pos- 
sess me — that  jealousy  of  every  other  female  creature 
in  the  universe." 

Dale  heard  her  with  the  utmost  impatience. 

"  I  wish  you  could  feel,  for  one  second,"  he  said,  "  the 
torture  you  cause  me.  It  is  simply  maddening.  I  can- 
not give  you  up  now,  whatever  I  could  have  done  be- 
fore. Make  your  own  terms  with  me,  Margaret.  Give 
me  any  obligation  you  like,  only  don't  say  we  are 
never  to  meet  after  that  dreadful  steamer  arrives. 
I  should  throw  myself  from  its  deck  into  the  ocean  if  I 
knew  you  were  consigned  to  the  awful  life  of  which  you 
spoke  a  little  while  ago.  I  will  not  leave  you  here!  I 
say  that  once  for  all.  You  shall  go  to  America  or  I 
shall  remain  in  Europe.  If  there  be  no  place  where  you 
can  earn  a  living  here,  there  are  certainly  plenty  on  the 
other  side  of  the  sea.  You  have  no  right  to  refuse  my 
offer  to  obtain  one  for  you  there — an  honest  opportunity 
to  get  your  bread.  If  you  refuse  that  you  are  beyond 
reason." 

Miss  Rivers  saw  that  her  companion  was  being 
wrought  into  a  state  of  uncontrollability,  and  she  tried 
to  soothe  him. 

"What  I  fear  is  that  your  resolution  to  leave  me  when 
we  reach  land  will  not  be  so  easy  to  keep.  There  will  be 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  103 

the  same  trouble  over  again — the  talk  of  marriage  and 
that  sort  of  thing," 

"  No/'  he  said,  eagerly,  "  I  will  let  all  that  go.  I  will 
give  up  all  hope  of  marrying  you,  and  certainly  I  shall 
never  think  of  marrying  any  other  woman  There!  It  is 
settled,  then;  there  is  no  more  to  be  said.  You  will  go 
to  New  York  with  me;  I  will  put  you  in  good  hands 
and,"  he  said  the  last  words  with  a  choking  voice,  "we 
will  part  forever." 

He  could  not  hold  back  the  tears,  and,  seeing  him 
weeping,  she  mingled  hers  with  those  that  coursed  down 
his  cheek. 

"  I  had  forgotten  that  you  wished  to  see  friends  here," 
he  said,  presently.  "  We  shall  have  to  attend  to  that  this 
morning,  or  it  may  be  too  late." 

"  I  do  not  want  to  see  them  if  I  am  going  with  you," 
she  answered,  tremulously.  "  Oh,  I  wonder  if  I  had  bet- 
ter go!  The  temptation  to  escape  my  certain  fate  here 
is  great,  but  there  must  be  no  break  in  your  promise. 
Make  it  again,  Kingdon,  solemnly." 

He  repeated  it  after  her,  slowly,  and  sealed  it  with  a 
kiss  on  her  lips. 

"I — I  will  go,"  she  said,  after  a  moment's  pause. 
"  Yes,  I  will  go.  And  now  I  must  return  to  my  room 
and  get  ready,  for  it  must  be  nearly  noon." 

"  A  minute,"  he  said,  as  she  was  about  to  leave  him. 
"  You  know  I  have  done  you  a  fearful  wrong,  and  you 
know  I  am  very  sorry.  It  will  do  me  much  good  to  hear 
you  say  you  forgive  me!" 

"I  will  say  it  and  welcome,"  she  replied.  "It  was  all 
my  fault.  I  believed  you  would  leave  with  less  regret 
whe  you  learned  that  I  was  not  the  kind  of  woman  you 
wanted  for  your  wife." 

He  shook  his  head  as  if  he  did  not  yet  understand. 


104:  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

"I  thought/'  she  stammered, — "I  wanted  yo»  to  go 
away  with  an  easier  heart/' 

He  drew  her  closer  to  him  again. 

"  You  poor  little  innocent/'  he  exclaimed,  "  in  what 
school  did  you  learn  these  strange  ideas?" 

A  few  minutes  later  a  callboy  was  knocking.  The 
American  steamer  had  arrived,  and  would  leave  in  about 
two  hours. 

Margaret  opened  her  door,  when  he  hastened  to  im- 
part the  news. 

"  The  steamer  is  here — our  steamer!"  he  said.  "  We 
are  going  in  two  hours — together!" 

"Hush!"  she  replied,  when  she  had  disengaged  her- 
self from  his  embrace.  "  If  you  act  like  this  I  shall  not 
dare  go  with  you." 

"  I  want  to  say  one  thing,"  he  whispered,  "  and  you 
will  understand  at  once.  In  order  that  we  may  be  as 
much  together  as  we  please,  I  shall  register  you  on  the 
passenger  list  as  my  wife." 

"  Oh!"  she  exclaimed,  but  he  stopped  her. 

"  It  is  not  an  official  document.  I  only  want  to  stop 
the  tongues  of  the  other  passengers.  We  shall  have 
nothing  to  do  with  them.  It  is  merely  for  expediency. 

There  was  another  knock  at  his  door,  and  he  went 
back  to  talk  with  a  porter,  who  wanted  to  know  when 
the  baggage  would  be  ready.  He  sent  down  for  his  bill, 
and  paid  everything  for  both.  It  was  a  good  thing  there 
was  so  much  to  do,  for  he  was  afraid  every  minute  that 
Miss  Eivers  would  raise  some  new  objection  if  she  had 
time  to  talk  with  him  alone.  Presently  they  were  in  the 
carriage  and  speeding  toward  the  pier. 

"  What  names?"  asked  the  agent,  when  Dale  asked  for 
two  tickets. 

"  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor,"  he  replied. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  105 

"Christian  names?" 

"  Albert  and— Lydia." 

Once  on  board,  Margaret  went  directly  to  her  state- 
room, where  she  elected  to  remain  for  the  present,  plead- 
ing a  slight  indisposition.  With  a  tender  caress  King- 
don  bade  her  try  to  sleep,  saying  he  would  not  disturb 
her  for  an  hour  or  two.  As  he  regained  the  deck  he  saw 
coming  toward  him  a  familiar  form,  and  Sidney  Brooks 
held  out  his  hand,  exclaiming,  "Well,  Kingdon  Dale!" 

"  You  are  mistaken,"  was  the  icy  reply.  "  My  name 
is  Taylor." 


106  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

"COME  AND  LET  US  TALK." 

The  astonishment  of  Mr.  Brooks  at  this  reception  of 
his  advances  was  marked.  He  knew  that  the  person  he 
had  addressed  was  Mr.  Dale,  and  he  could  not  account 
for  the  direct  cut  he  had  received,  or  the  pretense  that 
he  was  mistaken.  For  some  moments  he  stood  staring 
after  the  form  of  the  other,  as  it  moved  toward  the  far- 
ther end  of  the  deck,  wondering  over  the  strange  oc- 
currence. Suddenly  he  saw  it  whirl  about  and  come 
toward  him  quite  as  rapidly  as  it  had  gone  away. 

"  Come  over  here  and  let  us  have  a  talk,"  said  King- 
don,  in  a  more  affable  tone. 

Brooks  followed  willingly,  for  he  bore  no  ill-will  on 
account  of  the  treatment  he  had  just  received.  When 
they  had  reached  a  quiet  spot  where  there  were  no  ears 
to  overhear  their  conversation,  Dale  remarked,  "  I  was 
not  looking  for  any  one  I  knew,  and  I  have  reasons  for 
not  wishing  to  be  addressed  here  by  my  true  name.  That 
is  why  I  answered  you  so  abruptly.  But,  as  you  are  ap- 
parently going  to  be  my  fellow-voyager  for  the  next  ten 
days,  you  might  as  well  understand  it  now  as  later." 

"  If  you  have  any  secret  that  you  do  not  wish  me  to 
learn,  I  hope  you  will  not  think  it  necessary  to  reveal 
it,"  responded  Brooks.  "I  would  not  have  addressed 
you  had  I  suspected  that  to  be  the  case,  and  I  will  pro- 
fess not  to  know  you  during  the  voyage  if  you  desire." 

"  There  is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  that  course,"  said 
Dale,  after  reflection.  "I  have  committed  what  most 


THFIR    MARRIAGE   BOND.  107 

people  would  call  an  indiscretion,,  and  it  is  too  late  to 
undo  it.  If  I  had  expected  to  meet  any  person  who  knew 
me  on  the  boat  I  should  have  taken  a  different  method. 
All  I  need  explain  to  you  is  that  I  have  bought  my 
ticket  under  the  name  of  Albert  Taylor,  and  that  a  lady 
who  come  with  me  is  registered  as  Lydia  Taylor." 

He  spoke  as  if  the  matter  was  a  very  ordinary  one,  for 
he  did  not  mean  to  have  his  tones  excite  more  interest 
than  the  words  they  uttered.  But  Brooks  could  not  help 
a  slight  start,  and  a  change  of  color. 

"There!  It  is  out  now,"  added  Kingdon.  "You 
could  make  it  very  unpleasant  for  me  if  you  chose;  but  I 
think  I  read  your  mind  better  than  to  suppose  you 
would  do  so.  I  am  involved  in  one  of  those  affairs  which 
explanations  only  complicate.  The  least  said  in  the  mat- 
ter will  be  soonest  mended." 

Mr.  Brooks  bowed,  and  said  he  should  do  nothing  to 
add  to  his  friend's  uneasiness.  He  had  no  wish  to  learn 
anything  on  the  subject.  He  colored  as  he  made  the 
statement,  very  much  as  a  girl  might  have  done  with  the 
same  suspicions  in  mind,  but  Kingdon  felt  certain  of  his 
fealty  to  his  word,  and  breathed  easier. 

The  conversation  then  changed  to  Mr.  Brooks'  visit 
to  Europe,  and  to  the  legitimate  business  of  Mr.  Dale 
on  his  foreign  trip.  It  seemed  that  Sidney  had  been 
commissioned  to  take  some  depositions  at  Naples,  and 
had  taken  the  opportunity  to  see  a  little  of  Southern 
Italy,  but  his  time  had  been  extremely  limited,  and  he 
was  going  home  still  hungry  for  the  sights  he  had 
missed.  He  listened  to  Kingdon's  account  of  his  own 
voyages,  asking  many  questions  and  showing  interest  in 
all  he  heard. 

On  learning  that  it  was  only  five  weeks  since  Brooks 
had  left  Boston,  Mr.  Dale  inquired  about  his  friends 


108  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

there.  The  young  lawyer  gave  an  account  of  many  of 
them,  among  others  Gordon  Hayne.  He  also  mentioned 
incidentally  that  he  had  gone  with  Hayne  once  or  twice 
to  Mrs.  Bruce's,  and  had  also  seen  Mr.  Dale  the  elder. 

"  How  did  he  appear?"  queried  the  son,  anxiously. 

"  Much  as  the  last  time  I  had  seen  him — the  time  you 
were  there/'  said  Brooks.  "  I  had  quite  a  talk  with  him, 
mainly,  as  was  natural,  about  you.  I  did  not  then  know 
that  I  was  going  abroad — I  started  very  suddenly — but 
I  think  at  that  time  he  expected  you  home  a  little  earlier 
than  this." 

Kingdon  explained  that  he  had  done  more  business 
than  he  at  first  expected,  and  then  he  inquired  about  the 
Bruces. 

"  Mrs.  Bruce  looked  the  picture  of  health/'  responded 
Sidney,  "and  Miss  Ida,  though  not  as  ruddy  as  her 
mother,  was  as  ever  very  beautiful.  By  the  way,"  he 
added,  as  if  not  quite  sure  that  he  ought  to  mention  it, 
"  I  saw  the  announcement  of  your  engagement  just  be- 
fore you  sailed." 

To  this  statement  Dale  vouchsafed  no  reply.  He  was 
picturing  the  scene  to  himself — the  parlors  of  Mrs. 
Bruce,  the  familiar  faces  that  he  knew  must  have  gath- 
ered there.  In  one  chair  in  a  corner  his  pale-faced  father 
sat,  talking  a  little  occasionally,  and  thinking  of  the 
days  when  he  took  a  more  active  part  in  the  affairs  of  the 
world.  Thinking,  too,  no  doubt,  of  the  absent  son, 
whose  future  he  had  been  at  such  pains  to  secure,  both 
in  a  business  and  matrimonial  way. 

What  would  happen  when  the  son  returned  and  told 
him  that  he  would  under  no  circumstances  carry  out  the 
promise  he  had  made,  to  marry  Ida  Bruce?  Kingdon 
trembled  at  the  thought,  but  he  did  not  believe  anything 


THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND.  109 

could  make  him  swerve  from  his  determination  to  marry 
Margaret  Rivers  or  die  a  bachelor. 

Intuitively  Brooks  knew  that  the  subject  of  the  en- 
gagement was  a  distasteful  one  to  his  friend,  and  he  did 
not  again  allude  to  it.  He  could  not  help  reflecting  that 
the  registering  of  two  persons  as  "  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor" 
had  something  to  do  with  it.  The  matter  had  a  strange 
fascination  for  him,  but  he  had  no  intention  of  taking 
pains  to  probe  the  mystery. 

The  first  time  he  had  seen  Ida  Bruce  he  thought  her 
the  most  queenly  creature  he  had  ever  beheld.  He  had 
looked  upon  her  fiance,  as  Kingdon  was  already  reputed 
to  be,  as  the  most  happy  of  mortals.  He  knew  that  was 
the  general  opinion  in  and  about  Boston,  and  he  was 
greatly  puzzled  to  find  that  some  cloud  had  come  into 
the  happy  story  of  the  young  couple. 

"  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor!"  Had  Dale  married  while 
abroad  and  taken  another  name  on  the  boat  to  avoid  a 
premature  announcement  of  the  fact  to  his  father? 
That  seemed  the  most  probable  explanation  to  his  re- 
markable conduct. 

"  It  will  be  practically  impossible  to  live  together  on 
this  steamer  a  week  and  avoid  each  other  half  the  time," 
said  Kingdon.  "I  should  not  like  to  do  it,  even  if  I 
could.  Mrs.  Taylor  is  at  present  in  her  cabin,  but  she 
will  be  on  deck,  I  trust,  before  the  day  is  over.  You  will 
be  likely  to  see  a  good  deal  of  her." 

"  You  intend  to  present  me,  then?" 

"  Certainly.  Our  mutual  talk  will  be  about  Europe 
and  the  United  States,  in  a  general  way,  as  far  as  I  can 
guide  it.  I  think  Margaret — "  he  paused,  regretful  at 
his  error — "  Mrs.  Taylor  will  say  very  little  on  any  sub- 
ject when  we  are  together." 

"As  I  said,  and  as  I  wish  to  emphasize,"  remarked 


HO  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

Brooks,  with  that  flush  which  came  so  readily  to  his 
face,  "  I  want  to  know  nothing  of  your  private  affairs; 
"but,  in  order  that  there  may  be  no  confusion,  tell  me  one 
thing:  Am  I  to  consider,  in  my  conversation,  that  you 
are  married  to  this  lady;  is  that  what  I  am  given  to  un- 
derstand?" 

"  That  is  exactly  what  we  wish  you  to  assume,"  replied 
Dale,  "  in  case  the  necessity  arises  to  assume  anything. 
For  reasons  which  I  cannot  explain  if  I  would,  we  have 
registered  in  that  manner,  and  we  wish  to  keep  up  the 
assumption  till  we  are  landed  in  New  York." 

Soon  after  saying  this  he  excused  himself  and  went 
to  attend  to  some  business  with  the  purser  and  head 
steward.  While  determined  not  to  meddle  with  matters 
that  belonged  to  another,  Sidney  Brooks  could  not  help 
bringing  his  legal  mind  to  bear  on  the  case  before  him. 
From  the  concluding  statement  of  his  friend  he  gathered 
that  Kingdon  and  the  lady  with  him  were  unmarried. 
He  had  not  said  so  definitely,  but  he  had  spoken  of  it  as 
an  'assumption.'  A  thousand  conjectures  might  be 
made  of  their  reasons  for  traveling  under  a  false  title. 
There  was  certainly  nothing  to  show  that  Kingdon's 
marriage  with  Miss  Bruce  had  been  broken  off,  or  even 
that  this  voyage  with  "  Mrs.  Taylor  "  had  anything  to 
in  it  of  a  reprehensible  nature. 

Still,  as  he  kept  saying  to  himself,  whatever  the  affair 
meant,  it  was  nothing  to  him.  He  could  not  undertake 
to  act  as  guardian  of  the  morals  of  a  universe.  The 
world  was  a  queer  one,  and  strange  things  happened 
every  day. 

Half  an  hour  later,  being  in  the  dining  saloon,  he  was 
spoken  to  by  the  steward. 

"  Mr.  Taylor  has  asked  me  to  give  him  and  his  wife 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  Ill 

•eats  next  to  you,  and  the  gentlemen  who  had  them  have 
consented  kindly  to  make  a  change." 

"  That  will  be  very  pleasant,"  stammered  Mr.  Brooks. 

Involuntarily  he  glanced  at  the  card  which  the 
steward  had  placed  by  the  two  plates,  and  read  them: 
"Mr.  Taylor,  Cabin  46;  Mrs.  Taylor,  Cabin  47." 

The  lunch  bell  rang  while  he  was  thinking  about  the 
matter,  and  he  braced  himself  for  the  ordeal  before  him. 
To  his  relief,  however,  Kingdon  came  to  the  table  alone, 
with  the  explanation  that  Mrs.  Taylor  did  not  yet  feel 
equal  to  sitting  up,  and  would  be  served  in  her  cabin. 

Margaret  was  not  really  ill,  but  exhausted  with  the 
strain  through  which  she  had  passed.  In  her  excited 
state  she  was  already  sorry  that  she  had  yielded  to  the 
temptation  to  follow  the  man  she  loved  into  the  New 
World.  Still,  she  trembled  to  think  how  she  would  have 
felt  at  this  moment  had  his  vessel  disappeared  across  the 
brine  and  left  her  to  face  the  hopeless  future  of  poverty 
alone.  The  contending  emotions  dealt  severely  with  a 
physique  none  too  strong,  and  the  girl  lay  prone  upon. 
the  sofa  in  her  cabin,  a  very  pitiable  object. 

Why  had  she  ever  left  Cairo  in  his  company?  she 
asked  herself  a  thousand  times.  There  was  the  point  to 
separate,  as  her  conscience  had  told  her  plainly.  Every 
hour  spent  together  made  the  parting  more  and  more 
painful.  Why  had  she  succumbed  to  her  great  love  at 
the  Hotel  Eoyal?  Instead  of  making  it  easier  to  part, 
either  for  her  or  him,  it  had  made  it  infinitely  more  dif- 
ficult. And  here  she  was,  registered  as  his  wife,  living  a 
lie! 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  her  situation  had  been,  in- 
deed, trying.  When  she  had  resolved  to  give  up  so  much 
for  the  sake  of  that  American  woman  whom  she  had 
never  seen,  she  had  need  of  something  to  strengthen  her 


112  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

heart — a  single,  happy  memory  to  assuage  the  agonj 
the  after  years  of  her  life  must  hold.  She  had  stolen 
nothing  from  Miss  Bruce.  Mr.  Dale  would  marry  Ida 
yet  at  the  hour  he  had  agreed — she  would  make  him  do 
it.  The  ten  days  before  he  reached  land  were  hers!  She 
might  have  taken  all  the  days  he  had,  hut  she  had  re- 
served to  herself  only  this  hrief  space,  giving  all  the  rest 
to  her  rival. 

On  the  second  day,  at  evening,  she  appeared  at  dinner, 
and  ran  the  gauntlet  of  many  eyes  as  the  probable  bride 
who  had  come  aboard  at  Gibraltar..  She  was  presented 
to  Mr.  Brooks,  who  sat  next  to  Mr.  Dale,  and  exchanged 
a  few  words  with  him.  Brooks  decided  that  he  could 
tell  nothing  about  her  yet,  and  waited  to  get  a  better 
opportunity  to  form  an  opinion. 

She  was  certainly  a  pretty  woman,  though,  he  reflect- 
ed, ehe  had  nothing  of  the  radiant  beauty  of  Miss  Bruce. 
She  wore  mourning,  which  added  to  the  subdued  ap- 
pearance that  had  become  natural  to  her.  She  looked  as 
if  she  had  passed  through  some  recent  trial.  The  pale- 
ness of  her  face  might  be  ascribed  partly  to  this  and 
partly  to  the  effect  of  a  day  at  sea.  When  the  dinner 
was  ended,  Margaret  walked  for  half  an  hour  on  the 
deck,  leaning  on  her  "  husband's  "  arm,  and  the  most  of 
the  passengers  satisfied  their  curiosity  regarding  her  at 
that  time.  Then  she  retired  and  Mr.  Brooks  went  to  th« 
smoking  room  to  light  a  cigar. 

The  days  that  followed  were  much  like  this  one, 
though  Miss  Rivers  was  more  upon  the  deck  than  at 
first.  She  had  little  conversations  with  Mr.  Brooks,  in 
which  he  learned  that  she  was  of  English  birth  and  had 
lived  much  in  the  East,  but  nothing  mare. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  113 


CHAPTEE  XII. 

LOST  IN  NEW  YORK. 

At  six  one  morning,  Miss  Rivers  went  early  upon  the 
deck.  She  saw  from  the  window  of  her  cabin  that  land 
was  not  far  away — that  the  harbor  of  New  York  had  al- 
ready been  entered.  As  she  walked  about,  her  eyes 
searched  for  a  familiar  face,  and  she  soon  saw  it,  with  its 
eyes  gazing  interestedly  toward  the  shore. 

"  Good-morning,  Mr.  Brooks/'  she  said,  as  she  ap- 
proached him. 

As  he  turned  and  looked  at  her,  she  saw  that  he  was 
not  over  pleased  at  the  encounter.  He  replied  politely, 
but  there  was  a  lack  of  cordiality  in  his  manner  that  he, 
perhaps,  did  not  realize. 

"  Good  morning,  Mrs.  Taylor,"  he  said,  lifting  his  hat. 

"  I  want  to  ask  a  favor  of  you/'  she  said,  wistfully. 
"  I  want  you,  by  and  by,  when  we  have  landed,  to  give 
this  letter  to  Mr.— to  Mr.  Taylor." 

She  held  a  little  envelope  in  her  hand,  offering  it  to 
him,  but  he  made  no  move  to  take  it. 

"  Why  do  you  not  give  it  to  him,  yourself?"  he  asked. 

"  Because — I  am  sure  you  will  not  betray  me — I  am 
going  to  leave  him  as  soon  as  opportunity  offers.  He — 
he  is  not  my  husband — I  knew  long  ago  that  you  had 
guessed  it — and  I  must  relieve  him  of  my  presence.  I 
can't  explain  any  more,  but  when  I  am  gone  this  note 
will  simplify  matters,  and  prevent  his  instituting  a 
•earch  for  me.  Won't  you  please  give  it  to  him?" 

*  I  am  sorry  to  refuse,  but  I  really  cannot  mix  in  the 


114  THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND. 

affair/'  he  answered.  "  The  chief  steward  or  the  purser 
might  accommodate  you,  but  for  very  strong  reasons  I 
cannot." 

A  look  of  deep  distress  overspread  her  features,  and 
there  was  a  suspicion  of  moisture  in  her  dark  eyes. 
She  said  "  Good-morning  "  again,  not  angrily,  and  went 
toward  the  dining  saloon. 

"  I  suppose  I've  been  fearfully  impolite,"  said  Brooks 
to  himself,  "but  really  T  don't  see  what  else  I  could  have 
done.  Not  married  to  Dale,  eh?  Well,  as  she  says,  I 
never  believed  she  was.  It's  one  of  those  freaks  that 
good  men  fall  into  in  their  youth  and,  according  to 
what  she  says,  it  ends  here.  He  will  go  back  to  Newton, 
and  marry  Miss  Ida — who  will  never  know  of  the  es- 
capade. I  wonder/'  he  mused,  "  what  she  would  say  if 
she  did  know  of  it.  There  would  be  an  end  to  her  wed- 
ding preparations,  I  guess.  She's  not  the  sort  of  woman 
to  stand  a  thing  like  this,  if  it  came  to  her  ears." 

Margaret  found  that  the  head  steward  was  busy,  and, 
on  reflection,  thought  it  best  not  to  give  him  her  note 
yet,  for  fear  of  accident.  Soon  after  she  knocked  on 
Dale's  door. 

"  I  think  you  will  have  to  hasten,"  said  she.  "  It  will 
take  some  time  for  you  to  dress  and  pack,"  she  added,  as 
he  opened  the  portal.  "I  have  been  up  for  an  hour  and 
a  half,  and  have  only  just  finished." 

"At  the  hotel — to  which  we  are  going,"  she  continued, 
in  a  whisper,  "there  must  be  no  more  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Taylor.  You  are  again  to  be  Kingdon  Dale,  and  I  Mar- 
garet Rivers."  -* 

When  he  was  ready  they  walked  to  the  saloon,  where 
Kingdon  went  through  the  form  of  declaring  to  the  offi- 
cials that  he  had  no  dutiable  goods,  either  in  his  baggage 
•r  that  of  his  "wife."  For  this  purpose  He  was  obliged 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  116 

to  answer  to  the  name  recorded  on  the  passenger  list. 
Then  they  went  to  breakfast,  eating  the  meal  in  compar- 
ative silence. 

Sidney  Brooks  had  taken  his  breakfast  already  and 
left  the  table.  The  other  passengers  around  them  were 
chatting  gayly  at  the  prospect  of  being  so  soon  on  shore. 
A  number  of  ladies  whom  Margaret  had  never  seen  made 
their  appearance — the  inevitable  contingent  found  on  all 
Atlantic  steamers,  who  keep  their  staterooms  during  an 
entire  voyage  on  account  of  seasickness.  Goob-byes  were 
being  exchanged,  with  promises  to  write,  always  so  rife 
at  the  end  of  a  voyage  between  people  who  have  formed 
friendships  which  they  believe  will  be  lasting.  The 
brightness  and  bustle  struck  a  contrasting  chill  to  Mar- 
garet's heart.  Most  of  those  around  her  were  going  to 
happy  homes,  after  some  months  or  years  of  absence. 
She  alone  seemed  to  have  come  to  a  foreign  land,  where 
no  one  knew  her  and  where  she  had  no  hope  of  anything 
more  than  the  barest  subsistence,  if,  indeed,  she  was  so 
lucky  as  to  find  that. 

They  went  upon  the  deck,  where,  absent-mindedly, 
Kingdon  pointed  out  to  her  the  islands  of  the  Harbor 
and  the  tallest  buildings  on  shore,  as  well  as  the  spider's 
web  which  the  great  Brooklyn  Bridge  appears  to  the  dis- 
tant sight.  He  could  not  talk  of  much  else,  for  fear  of 
making  a  scene.  The  attitude  of  the  couple,  joined  to 
the  dejected  appearance  of  Margaret  and  the  mourning 
that  she  wore,  caused  comment  among  the  passengers, 
•who  decided  again  that  the  American  had  married  an 
English  wife  who  had  lately  suffered  some  great  be- 
reavement. The  belief  settled  down  to  a  deceased 
mother,  whom  she  and  her  husband  had  gone  to  Emrope 
to  bury. 

At  last  the  steamer  reached  her  dock  and  was  made 


116  THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND 

fast.  The  plank  was  arranged  and  the  passengers  alight- 
ed. With  little  delay  Kingdon  passed  the  examinations, 
and  he  was  soon  on  the  way  to  a  hotel  with  his  com- 
panion. Their  hands  stole  together  as  they  rode  through 
the  streets,  but  neither  dared  utter  more  than  common- 
places. 

When  they  drew  up  in  front  of  the  hostelry,  Mr.  Dale 
asked  the  girl  to  remain  for  a  few  moments  in  the  car- 
riage while  he  inquired  if  suitable  rooms  could  be  ob- 
tained, as  it  was  a  time  when  he  supposed  the  house 
would  be  quite  full.  He  had  hardly  passed  out  of  sight 
when  Margaret  made  a  quick  resolve  and  acted  upon  it. 

She  had  given  up  the  plan  of  asking  the  head  steward 
of  the  steamer  to  deliver  the  little  note  of  farewell  which 
che  had  offered  to  Mr.  Brooks.  She  had  acquiesced  in 
the  suggestion  that  Kingdon  should  remain  with  her  for 
a  day  or  two,  until  he  could  find  her  a  situation,  with  the 
tacit  understanding  that  all  relations  but  those  of  friend- 
ship should  cease  between  them  from  the  time  they 
landed.  But  when  he  alighted  to  look  for  their  rooms  a 
fright  seized  her. 

She  was  morally  certain  that  the  rooms  he  would  se- 
lect would  communicate  with  each  other.  She  knew 
how  hard  it  was  for  him  to  give  her  up,  and  she  dreaded 
putting  her  weak  strength  of  mind  against  his  strong 
one.  Should  she  enter  that  hotel  she  did  not  know  how 
she  could  resist  if  he  opposed  her  determination  to  leave. 
The  present  was  above  all  others  the  time  for  freedom, 
and  she  made  a  bold  dash  for  it. 

The  moment  he  was  out  of  sight  she  called  the  cab* 
man  to  the  window. 

"  The  large  trunk  and  the  smaller  bags  are  to  be  taken 
off  here,"  she  said,  hurriedly.  "  The  other  bag  and  the 
little  trunk  go  on  with  me." 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  117 

"  What?    You  don't  stop  together?"  said  the  man. 

"No,  Be  as  quick  as  possible,  please.  There  is  no 
time  to  spare." 

Knowing  no  reason  for  delay,  the  man  called  to  the 
hotel  porters,  who  stood  around,  and  had  the  designated 
baggage  removed  from  his  vehicle. 

"  What  shall  we  do  with  them,  ma'am?"  asked  one  of 
the  porters,  when  the  articles  named  were  deposited  in 
the  doorway. 

"  The  gentleman  will  be  back  directly.  He  has  gone 
inside  to  engage  a  room,"  she  said.  Then,  to  the  driver: 
"  Do  you  know  of  any  respectable  boarding  house,  where 
the  charges  are  not  very  dear?  I  want  to  be  taken  to 
such  a  place  at  once." 

The  driver,  for  a  wonder,  knew  of  exactly  such  a 
place,  and,  mounting  his  box,  drove  off  toward  it.  The 
room  and  board,  with  the  price  asked  for  the  same,  prov- 
ing satisfactory,  Miss  Eivers  settled  for  the  cab  and  en- 
tered her  new  home.  Her  first  act  after  finding  herself 
alone  was  a  very  feminine  one.  She  lay  down  on  the 
bed  and  cried  for  an  hour  as  if  her  heart  would  break. 

As  for  Kingdon  Dale,  his  surprise  and  disappointment 
may  be  imagined  when  he  found  how  he  had  been  de- 
serted. He  inquired  of  the  employees  of  the  hotel  who 
had  seen  the  carriage  if  they  remembered  the  number  or 
would  recognize  the  driver  if  they  saw  him  again,  but  in 
both  these  points  he  was  met  by  negatives.  It  was  plain 
that  they  thought  the  joke  on  him  a  huge  one,  for  he 
could  discern  covert  smiles  in  their  faces  and  felt  that 
they  would  not  help  him,  even  if  they  could.  The  lady 
had  meant  to  give  him  the  slip,  and  their  sympathy  was 
all  with  her. 

He  could  not  explain  the  state  of  affairs  to  these  fel- 
lows, and,  rather  than  remain  in  a  house  where  the  story 


118  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

was  certain  to  be  repeated  among  the  guests,  he  took  a 
second  carriage  and  went  immediately  to  another  one. 

What  was  to  be  done?  He  did  not  want  to  leave  Mar- 
garet to  the  tender  mercies  of  a  strange  country.  He 
sincerely  wished  to  aid  her  in  every  possible  way  to  earn 
a  living,  since  it  was  clear  she  was  bound  at  any  cost  to 
carry  out  her  intention  of  leaving  him.  But  New  York 
is  a  large  place.  She  might  have  left  the  city  by  one  of 
the  numerous  trains,  reaching  out  into  the  country  in  a 
hundred  directions.  She  would,  without  doubt,  do  her 
best  to  avoid  him. 

The  more  he  thought  of  the  matter  the  more  disheart- 
ened he  grew.  His  conscience  pricked  him  severely  for 
the  part  he  had  played  toward  her.  He  was  no  roue1 — 
she  was  the  first  woman  toward  whom  he  had  ever  acted 
in  this  dishonorable  way.  He  would  never  have  been 
led  into  it  but  for  the  belief  that  he  could  right  his 
wrong  by  marriage. 

What  were  her  chances  to  obtain  an  honest  living? 
He  feared  they  were  not  of  the  best.  She  was  pretty, 
very  unsophisticated,  and  nearly  penniless.  He  knew 
just  how  much  money  she  had,  for  the  day  before  land- 
ing he  had  put  a  hundred  dollars  in  American  money 
into  her  purse,  from  which  he  had  taken  the  last  shilling 
when  they  left  Gibraltar.  She  had  protested  when  he 
did  this,  and  he  had  promised  to  take  it  back  again  as 
soon  as  she  was  settled  in  a  good  place,  and  was  certain 
she  could  spare  the  amount. 

A  hundred  dollars!  It  might  last  her  six  or  seven 
weeks  with  the  rigid  economy  she  would  be  sure  to  prac- 
tice. And,  after  that! 

Without  the  least  idea  that  he  was  likely  to  see  her  he 
walked  up  and  down  the  streets  all  that  afternoon  and 
into  the  evening,  peering  into  every  female  face  he  en- 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  119 

countered.  He  was  without  hope,  and  yet  it  seemed  as 
if  he  could  not  give  up.  People  stared  at  him,  so  pale,  so 
wrapt  in  his  quest.  He  had  eaten  no  lunch  and  no  din- 
ner. About  eleven  o'clock  at  night  he  met  on  the  side- 
walk a  familiar  form  and  stopped  at  the  warm  greeting 
of  Mr.  Gordon  Hayne. 

"  Why,  Kingdon,  where  did  you  come  from?" 

"  I  don't  know,"  was  the  strange  reply. 

The  speaker  was  so  full  of  the  ohject  of  his  thoughts 
that  for  a  moment  he  could  not  collect  himself. 

"  See  here,"  said  Hayne,  "  you're  not  well.  Come 
inside  one  of  these  restaurants  and  take  something  for 
your  nerves." 

Not  able  to  resist,  though  he  hated  to  have  his  walk 
interrupted,  Kingdon  followed  his  old  acquaintance  into 
a  brightly  lighted  place,  and,  in  response  to  a  request  to 
state  what  he  would  take,  said  simply  that  he  did  not 
care. 

"  You  are  ill,"  said  Hayne,  eying  him  closely.  "  You'd 
best  have  a  little  brandy  and  water."  He  indicated  to  a 
waiter  who  had  appeared  that  he  might  bring  the  bever- 
age designated.  "  When  you've  swallowed  that  I'll  get  a 
carriage  and  take  you  to  your  hotel.  Where  are  you 
stopping?" 

"  I  don't  know,"  was  the  guttural  answer,  while  Mr. 
Dale  showed  signs  of  collapse. 

"  For  Heaven's  sake,  brace  up!"  said  the  other,  be- 
coming alarmed.  "  You  had  too  hard  a  sea  voyage,  I 
guess,  and  haven't  got  your  land  legs  yet.  Think,  King- 
don," he  added,  fearing  that  his  friend  would  faint  be- 
fore he  had  given  information  as  to  his  hotel.  "  Where 
did  you  get  your  dinner?" 

Mr.  Dale  looked  blankly  at  the  questioner,  and  then, 
the  brandy  and  water  arriving,  sipped  some  of  it  slowly. 


120  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

*  I  don't  think  I've  had  any  dinner,"  he  said,  finally. 

"You  came  in  on  the  Mediterranean  steamer  from 
Gibraltar  this  morning,  didn't  you?" 

Dale  eyed  his  companion  nervously. 

"How  did  you  know  that?"  he  asked,  rousing  him* 
self. 

"  I  guessed  it  from  the  fact  that  your  father  told  me  a 
few  days  ago  that  he  had  had  a  letter  from  you  dated  at 
Malta,  and  that  you  intended  taking  the  southern  route 
home;  and  I  saw  in  the  noon  edition  of  the  Telegram 
that  the  boat  was  in." 

The  explanation  quieted  the  young  man,  and  the  al- 
lusion to  his  father  opened  a  new  train  of  thought. 

"  My— father— is  he  well?" 

"  About  as  usual;  and  very  anxious  to  see  you.  If  the 
news  of  your  steamer's  safe  arrival  was  in  the  evening 
edition  of  the  Boston  papers,  he  will  sit  up  to-night 
waiting  for  you.  Your  best  way  now  is  to  take  the  mid- 
night train,  and  be  at  home  early  in  the  morning." 

There  was  something  in  this  suggestion  that  caused 
Kingdon  to  break  into  immoderate  laughter,  not  loud 
enough  to  attract  attention  from  others  in  the  room,  but 
sufficiently  strange  to  cause  Mr.  Hayne  a  good  deal  of 
apprehension. 

Had  his  friend  completely  lost  his  mind? 

It  was  the  kind  of  laughter  that  is  often  followed  by 
tears,  but  in  this  case  the  manifestation  stopped  short  of 
that. 

"If  you  have  really  had  no  dinner,  you  should  eat 
something,"  said  Hayne.  "Nothing  is  worse  than  an 
empty  stomach." 

Kingdon  acquiesced  in  the  idea  of  refreshments,  and  a 
repast  was  soon  spread  before  him,  of  which  he  partook 
with  a  reasonable  appetite.  The  effects  of  the  viand* 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  121 

were  almost  immediately  apparent  in  his  improved  ap- 
pearance. 

"  I  cannot  go  to  Boston  to-night,"  he  said,  when  that 
subject  was  again  broached.  "  But  perhaps  I  will  go  to- 
morrow. I  have  a  little  business  to  transact  here — for 
my  firm.  Yes,  I  think  a  note  stating  that  I  have  arrived 
might  be  sent  home.  It  will  relieve  father  of  anxiety  in 
case  he  hears  of  the  arrival  of  my  boat." 

Stationery  was  procured,  and  the  epistle  indited,  a 
messenger  being  summoned  to  take  it  to  the  railway  sta- 
tion, as  it  was  too  late  for  the  postoffice. 

"  You'd  better  let  me  walk  to  the  hotel  with  you/' 
eaid  Hayne,  when  the  name  of  that  establishment  was  at 
last  given  to  him.  "  I'm  at  the  Brunswick.  And  to- 
morrow, unless  you're  a  great  deal  better,  I  advise  you 
to  be  careful  not  to  go  about  too  much.  You  gave  me  a 
start  when  I  first  met  you,  upon  my  word !" 

As  there  was  nothing  to  be  gained  by  continuing  to 
patrol  the  city  in  his  present  condition,  Kingdon  con- 
sented to  go  home  and  to  bed.  After  his  arrival  there 
he  relapsed  for  a  time  into  his  former  condition  of  de- 
spondency. It  did  not  seem  as  if  he  could  close  his  eyea 
when  the  girl  he  loved  so  well  might  be  already  a  victim 
to  the  snares  and  wiles  that  would  be  set  for  her  feet. 

But  tired  Nature  had  her  way  at  last,  and  he  slept 
the  sleep  of  an  exhausted  man  till  morning. 


H22  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

"YOU  ARE  A  SICK  MAN." 

When  Kingdon  awoke  it  was  with  a  start.  The  proh- 
lem  which  he  had  been  obliged  to  face  on  the  previous 
day  was  still  in  existence. 

For  a  full  hour  he  did  not  attempt  to  rise.  But, 
though  he  thought  of  the  dilemma  in  every  conceivable 
phase,  its  severity  did  not  abate.  Margaret  had  deserted 
him  in  a  manner  that  showed  how  strong  was  her  pur- 
pose to  end  all  connections  between  them.  There  was  a 
possibility  that  to-day  or  to-morrow,  frightened  at  being 
alone  in  a  strange  land,  she  would  relent  and  come  in 
search  of  him.  If  she  held  out  beyond  that  he  did  not 
know  where  to  find  further  hope.  He  could  not  long 
delay  going  to  see  his  father,  but  he  resolved  at  least  to 
wait  in  the  city  forty-eight  hours. 

There  was  no  telling  whether  the  English  girl  was  still 
in  the  vicinity  or  whether  some  of  the  trains  that  run  to 
all  points  of  the  compass  had  taken  her  miles  and  miles 
away.  He  would  write  a  few  words  home,  stating  that  he 
had  arrived,  and  that  a  business  matter  would  delay  him 
in  New  York  for  a  couple  of  days.  In  the  meantime 
there  was  the  patrol  of  the  long  streets  and  avenues,  the 
perusal  of  the  newspapers,  the  frequent  returns  to  the 
office  of  the  hotel  where  she  had  left  him,  with  inquiries 
and  a  careful  injunction  to  each  of  the  clerks  to  detain 
any  person  who  might  call  for  him. 

Gordon  Hayne  came  around  about  ten  o'clock  to  in- 
quire after  his  condition,  and  Kingdon,  who  was  then  at 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  123 

breakfast,  got  rid  of  him  by  a  plausible  story,  without 
giving  offense.  Gordon  said  he  was  in  the  city  on  no 
particular  business,  merely  passing  the  time.  While  the 
coffee  was  disappearing  he  took  occasion  to  speak  of  Ed- 
ward Dale  and  of  the  Bruce  family,  but  Kingdon  paid 
little  attention  to  the  subject. 

"There  isn't  anything  that  I  can  do  for  you,  is 
there?"  asked  Hayne,  as  his  friend  excused  himself.  "  I 
don't  like  to  see  you  looking  like  this,  and  my  time  is 
wholly  at  your  disposal,  if  it's  of  any  use." 

"  No/'  was  the  reply.  "  I  am  upset  a  little  about  a 
business  matter,  but  I  guess  it  will  come  around  all 
right." 

"  If  you  want  any  money — pardon  me — you  know  you 
have  only  to  mention  it." 

"  Thank  you.    It  is  nothing  of  that  kind.    Good-bye." 

He  was  very  much  broken  up.  Hayne,  who  knew  him 
go  well,  was  perfectly  certain  of  that.  But  there  was 
nothing  he  could  do,  either  to  help  his  friend  or  to  sat- 
isfy his  curiosity,  and  he  parted  from  Kingdon  without 
either  of  them  alluding  to  a  possible  reunion. 

After  walking  aimlessly  about  for  a  time,  peering  into 
the  faces  of  every  woman  he  met,  Dale  returned  to  the 
hotel  and  copied  from  a  directory  a  long  list  of  intel- 
ligence offices.  These  he  obtained  help  in  arranging  in 
some  order  as  to  their  distance  from  the  hotel  and  the 
direction  in  which  they  lay.  Then,  taking  a  carriage,  he 
explained  to  the  driver  his  desire  to  visit  the  entire  list 
as  fast  as  convenient,  and  set  off  on  that  errand. 

"  I  wish  to  engage  a  young  woman  to  teach  two  chil- 
dren the  ordinary  branches,"  was  the  story  he  repeated 
at  each  office.  "  An  English  girl,  newly  arrived,  would 
be  preferred." 

At  two  or  three  places  they  said  they  had  exactly  whafc 


19*  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOOTX 

he  wanted,  and  called  out  of  adjacent  rooms  various 
types  of  females  to  prove  the  assertion.  They  would  not 
do,  however,  and,  leaving  an  address,  fictitious,  of  course, 
at  the  general  postoffice,  he  arranged  that  in  case  any- 
thing more  suitable  presented  itself  he  was  to  be  noti- 
fied. By  evening  he  had  tired  his  driver,  the  horsed 
and  himself,  and  discovered  nothing. 

In  the  hours  between  dark  and  midnight  he  could  not 
rest.  He  renewed  his  wanderings  in  the  streets.  How 
Tery  many  women  there  were  without  escorts!  Not  » 
few  of  them  were  on  errands  that  filled  him  with  hor- 
roi.  He  thought  continually  that  Margaret,  the  pure 
and  gentle  Margaret — for  to  him  she  was  still  pure  as 
ever — might  yet  join  that  sisterhood. 

She  had  hinted  of  it  in  some  of  their  talks,  this 
dernier  resort  of  the  woman  who  has  to  wrest  her  living 
from  the  cruel  world.  It  drove  him  frantic  to  think  of 
the  probable  fate  of  such  a  girl,  alone,  friendless,  ignor- 
ant of  life,  with  no  trade  or  profession — unless  he  could 
find  her. 

His  steps  grew  heavier.  Perhaps  she  had  already  be- 
gun the  downward  career.  The  descent  into  hell  is  so 


Struck  with  a  new  idea,  Kingdon  called  a  cab  from  a 
stand  and  told  the  driver  to  take  him  on  a  round  of  the 
"  pleasure  houses  "  of  the  city.  It  was  but  a  chase  for 
wild  geese,  and  one  resort  was  as  likely  as  another  to 
bring  him  to  what  he  sought.  He  had  known  hitherto 
"but  little  of  this  kind  of  thing,  but  he  had  a  general  no- 
tion of  the  manner  in  which  these  houses  were  con- 
ducted. 

He  went  from  one  to  the  other,  ringing  the  bells,  be- 
ing escorted  into  the  parlors,  seeing  the  troops  of  painted 
girls  enter  for  his  inspection,  noting  the  eager  glances 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  125 

which  they  cast  upon  him,  each  one  hoping  to  touch  his 
fancy.  He  paid  for  the  wine  that  was  proposed,  though 
he  did  not  lift  the  glass  to  his  own  lips.  He  questioned 
each  madame  as  to  whether  there  was  on  her  list  of 
boarders  a  young  English  girl  lately  arrived  in  the  city, 
and  excused  himself  from  the  house,  with  a  feeling  that 
he  had  already  outstayed  his  welcome  as  far  as  the  occu- 
pants were  concerned. 

This  he  repeated  at  a  dozen  places.  Then  he  realized 
how  hopeless  was  his  quest — how  improbable  it  was  that 
Margaret  would  happen  to  be  in  any  of  these  houses, 
how  unlikely  that  he  would  find  her  even  if  she  were, 
when  there  were  five  hundred  other  shady  resorts  that 
he  had  no  time  to  visit.  Overwhelmed  with  his  emo- 
tions, haggard  and  distraught,  he  was  driven  back  to  his 
hotel. 

On  the  way  he  stopped  at  the  other  hotel  and  renewed 
his  inquiries  as  to  whether  any  one  had  called  to  ask 
for  him.  Nobody.  Beaching  his  own  hostelry,  and  go- 
ing toward  the  elevator  to  seek  his  chamber,  Kingdon 
met  Gordon  Hayne  in  the  hallway. 

"  I  am  going  to  bed,"  said  Dale,  briefly,  to  his  visitor. 

"I  want  to  talk  with  you  a  moment/'  responded 
Hayne.  "  Let  me  go  up  with  you." 

M"ch  as  he  would  have  liked  to  escape  the  con- 
versation, Dale  did  not  know  how  to  do  so.  The  two 
men  ascended  together,  and  soon  the  door  of  the  cham- 
ber was  closed  upon  them.  • 

"I  don't  want  to  impose  upon  your  privacy,"  said 
Gordon,  when  they  were  seated,  "  but  the  condition  in 
which  I  find  you  makes  it  my  duty  You  are  a  sick  man, 
with  something  on  your  mind  that  is  driving  you  dis- 
tracted. I  am  your  friend,  your  companion  of  long 
years,  and  I  cannot  leave  until  you  axe  in  a  better  con- 


126  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

dition.  Last  night,  when  I  first  encountered  you,  you 
were  nearly  out  of  your  mind.  This  morning  you  were 
unfit  to  go  out  alone,  but  I  had  to  let  you.  To-night 
you  need  a  physician,  if  ever  a  man  did.  Now,  Kingdon, 
you  can't  go  on  like  this.  You  needn't  tell  me  what  is 
the  cause  of  it,  but  you  must  take  my  advice.  I  know 
you  will  have  a  month's  illness  unless  this  thing  is 
stopped  right  away." 

Dale  realized  as  his  friend  was  speaking  that  there 
was  truth  in  what  he  said.  He  was  very  weak.  His 
head  was  whirling.  He  looked  in  a  mirror  opposite  to 
where  he  sat,  and  was  shocked  to  note  the  pallor  of  his 
face  and  the  circles  that  had  grown  around  his  eyes. 

"  What  do  you  want  me  to  do?"  he  stammered. 

"  To  let  me  send  for  a  doctor,  to  begin  with.  He  will 
give  you  a  potion  that  will  help  you  to  a  healthful  sleep. 
Then  I  want  to  get  a  room  near  you  and  remain  till 
morning.  You  ought  not  to  be  left  alone.  And  to-mor- 
row, throwing  everything  else  aside,  I  want  you  to  come 
to  Boston  with  me,  where  your  father  is  anticipating 
your  return  and  watching  for  you  with  every  train  that 
comes  to  the  station." 

The  mention  of  the  word  "  father  "  did  not  impress 
Kingdon  as  Gordon  had  believed  it  would. 

"There  is  another  who  waits  for  you,"  he  saidj  at 
random.  "  The  girl  you  are  engaged  to  marry." 

A  distinct  shade  of  pain  crossed  the  other's  features. 
Hayne  did  not  understand  its  meaning,  but  he  could  not 
help  seeing  it. 

"  Very  well,"  said  Dale,  after  a  strained  pause.  "  Call 
the  doctor.  I  do  need  rest,  that  is  a  fact.  As  for  going 
home — we  will  talk  of  that  when  to-morrow  comes." 

Hayne  touched  a  bell,  and  hastily  scribbled  a  note, 
which  he  gave  to  the  attendant  who  responded.  Not 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  187 

long  after  a  doctor  whom  he  knew  quite  well  respond- 
ed, and  without  any  more  conversation  than  was  neces- 
sary a  prescription  was  given,  that  was  filled  and  taken. 

Mr.  Dale  was  too  tired  to  make  his  sleep  long  in 
coming,  and  the  character  of  the  sedative  relieved  him 
of  the  restless  dreams  he  would  otherwise  have  expe- 
rienced. Mr.  Hayne  stayed  in  the  room  for  an  hour, 
until  he  was  satisfied  with  the  regular  breathing  of  his 
friend  and  patient,  and  then  retired  to  a  room  across  the 
hall,  which  he  was  able  to  secure. 

Three  or  four  times  during  the  night  he  rose  and 
went  to  look  at  the  sleeper,  for  he  had  not  removed  more 
than  a  part  of  his  own  clothing,  but  there  was  nothing 
to  be  done.  The  morning  came  and  found  Kingdon's 
rest  undisturbed,  and  it  was  after  nine  o'clock  when  he 
finally  opened  his  eyes. 

His  first  sensations  were  another  sinking  at  the  heart, 
as  the  truth  forced  itself  upon  him.  But  Hayne  was 
ready  with  encouraging  words;  with  statistics  about  the 
trains  to  Boston,  and  with  allusions  to  the  father  who 
had  not  seen  his  son  for  months  and  whose  anxiety  must 
be  great  to  welcome  him.  There  was  little  prospect  that 
longer  delay  in  New  York  would  avail  anything.  At 
least,  Kingdon  thought,  he  might  go  home  and  meet  his 
father  and  business  associates,  and  then,  if  any  glimmer 
of  hope  came  again  to  his  breast,  he  could  return  and 
recommence  his  search. 

He  indicated  to  Gordon  that  he  would  go  with  him, 
and  the  one  o'clock  train  was  decided  upon.  He  allowed 
his  friend  to  send  a  telegram  to  Newton  announcing  the 
decision.  Then  he  took  a  slight  breakfast,  packed  his 
things,  inquired  at  the  other  hotel  office  if  any  visitor 
had  come  or  any  mail,  sent  to  the  general  post  to  see  if 
anything  had  been  received  there  from,  the  intelligence 


128  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

office  people,  and  finally  drove  with  his  companion  to 
the  Grand  Central  Station. 

On  the  train  he  had  a  relapse,  and  Hayne  was  obliged 
to  administer  a  cordial  to  keep  him  from  an  entire  giv- 
ing way.  The  dreadful  thought  that  Margaret  was  alone 
and  helpless  in  that  great  maelstrom — that  her  fate 
could  hardly  be  a  matter  of  doubt — came  over  him  like  a 
flood. 

Even  should  she  relent  in  her  mad  purpose  to  avoid 
him,  would  she  know  where  to  find  him?  America  was 
to  her  a  terra  incognita.  She  had  passed  most  of  her 
life  in  the  East,  where  the  conditions  were  so  widely 
different.  She  was  by  nature  shrinking  and  disinclined 
to  ask  favors.  It  might  be  that,  at  this  moment,  she 
was  sobbing  her  sweet  eyes  out  in  an  agony  of  regret  at 
her  desertion,  and  without  the  slightest  idea  how  to  pro- 
ceed in  a  search  for  him. 

Oh,  it  was  maddening! 

As  the  train  approached  its  destination,  however,  Dale 
became  calmer.  He  had  a  trial  to  meet,  and  he  resolved 
to  put  on  the  best  possible  appearance  till  the  first  of  it 
was  over.  He  made  himself  as  presentable  as  possible  in 
the  toilet  room  of  the  Pullman  he  occupied,  and  when 
Mr.  Hayne  parted  from  him,  as  he  considerately  did  be- 
fore Kingdon  took  the  suburban  train  for  Newton,  he 
entertained  no  doubt  that  it  was  quite  safe  to  do  so. 

"Good-bye,"  Gordon  said,  pressing  his  hand.  "'1*11 
see  you  in  a  day  or  two,  or  sooner,  if  you  want  me.  These 
sea-voyages  are  depressing  to  many  people,  and  a  little 
longer  time  on  land  will  set  you  right.  My  regards  to 
your  father — and-^the  Brucea." 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 


CHAPTEE  XIT. 

MRS.  BRUCE'S  ADVICE. 

The  welcome  which  Kingdon  Dale  received  at  the 
paternal  mansion  was  as  warm  as  he  could  have  ex- 
pected. This  was  the  first  time  he  had  been  separated 
«o  long  from  his  father,  and  the  elder  gentleman  evinced 
his  pleasure  at  seeing  him  again  in  no  uncertain  man- 
ner. It  was  some  minutes  before  he  noticed  the  ravages 
that  mental  distress  had  wrought  in  his  son's  face,  and 
he  was  easily  satisfied  with  the  explanation  that  the 
weather  at  sea  had  been  rough.  The  talk  lasted  until 
half  an  hour  after  the  dinner  was  ended,  and  then  Ed- 
ward Dale  suggested  that  Kingdon  go  without  further 
delay  to  pay  a  call  on  his  sweetheart. 

"I  have  not  sent  them  word  of  your  arrival,  as  no 
doubt  you  thought  I  would  do,"  he  said,  "  so  your  com- 
ing will  be  a  perfect  surprise.  Duty  is  duty,  my  boy, 
and  must  be  considered  before  everything  else.  Don't 
stay  too  long,  for  I  want  another  talk  before  I  go  to  bed. 
How  good  it  seems  to  see  your  face  again!" 

Still  numbed  to  some  extent  by  the  events  that  had 
occurred,  Kingdon  could  not  help  being  impressed  by 
the  happiness  of  this  relation,  who  had  been,  until  with- 
in the  past  few  weeks,  the  dearest  person  on  earth  to 
him.  Before  leaving  the  house  he  stooped  over  the  in- 
valid's chair  and  received  a  kiss  on  the  forehead,  after 
the  old  fashion. 

The  path  that  led  across  the  field  was  bordered  now 
with  the  country  flowers  of  early  summer.  The  grass  on 


130  THEIR    MARRIAGE    BOND. 

both  sides  was  green  and  fragrant,  and  the  trees  were  in 
the  full  beauty  of  their  foliage.  The  sun  had  set,  but 
the  evening  was  still  suffused  with  light,  and  the  air  was 
as  balmy  as  that  of  the  islands  he  had  visited  in  mid- 
winter. But  the  heavy  weight  on  his  heart  overpowered 
all  else. 

Ida  Bruce  was  sitting  on  a  veranda  of  her  house,  and 
discerned  his  form  some  moments  before  he  arrived. 
She  called  her  mother  in  a  low  voice,  through  an  open 
window,  and  when  Kingdon  approached  near  enough  to 
make  the  action  discreet,  both  ladies  waved  their  hands 
to  him  and  descended  the  steps.  Their  quick  eyes  saw, 
even  before  any  words  were  exchanged,  that  he  was  in 
no  very  joyful  mood,  and  they  adapted  themselves  sagely 
tc  the  situation. 

The  usual  expressions  of  pleasure  at  greeting  a  wan- 
derer were  given  as  Mr.  Dale  approached  and  took  their 
hands,  and  his  answers  were  courteous  enough.  Still, 
no  spectator  would  have  imagined,  from  his  manner, 
that  the  younger  of  these  ladies  was  affianced  to  him, 
and  that  the  day  set  for  their  wedding  was  only  three  or 
four  months  distant. 

Mrs.  Bruce  had  a  great  deal  of  tact,  and  she  so  man- 
aged the  conversation  that  all  went  smoothly.  She  made 
him  talk  of  the  things  he  had  seen,  and  alluded  to  her 
own  foreign  journeys,  taken  many  years  before.  Ida  did 
little  but  listen,  and  she  did  that  very  well.  Her  smile 
was  ready  when  the  situation  called  for  a  smile,  and  her 
fair  brow  darkened  with  apprehension  when  anything 
was  said  about  the  dangers  of  the  deep. 

The  welcome  home  that  both  of  them  gave  him  was 
of  a  kind  that  would  have  gone  far  to  influence  his 
future,  had  he  not  been  impervious  to  everything  in  that 
direction.  He  thought,  in  the  pauses  of  the  conversa- 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  131 

tion,  of  the  imperative  necessity  to  let  these  people  un- 
derstand his  true  situation  regarding  them,  before  many 
days  had  passed.  And  the  complications  that  were  cer- 
tain to  arise  filled  him  with  dismal  forebodings. 

Excusing  himself  at  an  early  hour,  on  the  plea  that  his 
father  was  sitting  up  for  him,  Kingdon  strolled  back  to 
his  home.  It  was  impossible  for  Edward  Dale  to  let  the 
occasion  pass  without  alluding  to  the  marriage,  or  speak- 
ing of  the  congratulations  that  had  been  showered  upon 
the  match  from  all  sides. 

"I  don't  believe  you  half  realize,  even  yet,  what  a 
lucky  chap  you  are,"  he  said,  with  a  chuckle.  "Your 
fiancee  possesses  every  requisite  for  marital  happiness. 
She  is  young,  beautiful,  wealthy,  and  you  are  the  only 
man  who  has  ever  in  the  remotest  degree  won  her  affec- 
tion. It  will  be  but  a  little  while  now  before  this  will  be 
yours,  and  you  are  already  the  envy  of  every  marriage- 
able young  man  within  thirty  miles  of  Boston." 

It  was  no  time  to  get  involved  in  a  controversy  as  im- 
portant as  this  would  be. 

"I  think  I  shall  have  to  go  to  bed,"  Kingdon  re- 
marked, with  a  wearied  look.  "  I  am  still  very  tired  with 
my  voyage,  and  you  know  I  have  a  great  deal  of  business 
to  do  to-morrow." 

The  father  acquiesced,  though  with  a  trace  of  disap- 
pointment in  his  countenance,  for  he  dearly  loved  the 
subject  on  which  he  had  launched  out. 

The  next  day  Kingdon  escaped  the  discussion  he  so 
much  dreaded.  He  was  closeted  with  members  of  his 
firm  until  evening,  and  came  home  so  late  that  his  father 
had  already  retired.  The  succeeding  day  he  managed  to 
get  leave  of  absence,  with  some  business  for  the  concern 
in  New  York  as  an  excuse,  and  hastened  to  Newton  to 
pack  a  gripsack. 


132  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

"  Well,  business  is  of  the  first  importance/'  comment- 
ed Edward  Dale,  sadly,  as  he  heard  the  news.  "You 
won't  be  gone  more  than  a  day  or  two,  I  suppose. 
There's  time  to  run  over  and  explain  it  to  Miss  Bruce,  I 
hope.  You've  only  spent  a  couple  of  hours  with  her 
iince  your  long  absence." 

Yes,  Kingdon  said,  he  would  have  the  carriage  stop 
there  on  the  way  to  the  train.  He  would  return  from 
the  metropolis  as  soon  as  his  affairs  there  would  let  him, 
of  course.  Then,  fearing  to  talk  too  long,  he  bade  his 
father  a  hasty  farewell,  and  entered  the  cab  which  had 
been  summoned. 

His  interview  with  the  Bruce  ladies  was  even  briefer. 
They  accepted  his  statement  about  the  urgent  and  sud- 
den business  call  without  demur. 

Arriving  in  New  York,  he  went  first  to  the  postoffice, 
but  there  were  no  letters  for  him  there.  He  drove  next 
to  the  hotel  he  had  intended  to  occupy,  and  found  that 
no  lady  or  other  person  had  called  to  inquire  for  him  or 
to  leave  any  message.  He  received  both  of  these  pieces 
cf  information  with  equanimity,  for  his  nerves  had  re- 
covered something  of  their  natural  strength,  and,  be*- 
Bides,  he  had  not  allowed  himself  to  expect  anything 
different.  There  was  no  danger  that  he  would  collapse 
this  time  or  require  the  services  of  a  physician,  although 
his  regard  for  Margaret  Rivers  had  suffered  no  diminu- 
tion. 

He  next  sought  out  the  services  of  a  detective  bureau, 
and  arranged  for  two  of  their  "  best "  men  (these 
bureaus  never  have  any  other  kind)  to  search  the  city 
for  the  missing  one.  He  told  them  her  correct  name, 
gave  ihem  the  best  description  he  could  of  her,  and  de- 
tailed the  manner  in  which  she  had  evaded  him.  There 
was  no  need  to  hint  at  the  relations  he  had  sustained  to 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  135 

her,  but  he  did  say  that  they  had  arrived  from  Gibraltar 
on  the  same  steamer,  giving  the  name  of  the  vessel  and 
the  date. 

The  detectives  commenced  in  a  businesslike  way  by  in- 
terviewing several  hundred  hackmen.  Strange  to  say, 
they  found  the  one  who  had  taken  Miss  Eivers  and  Mr. 
Dale  to  the  hotel  and  had  then,  at  her  request,  driven 
her  to  a  boarding  house.  Returning  to  their  office  they 
found  Kingdon  there — this  was  on  the  second  day — and 
one  of  them  went  with  him  to  the  house  designated. 

The  lady  evidently  wanted,  who  had,  however,  given 
the  name  of  Eoper,  was  easily  identified  at  the  boarding 
house.  But  she  had  remained  only  one  night,  and  the 
landlady  had  an  impression  that  she  had  said  something 
about  leaving  the  city. 

As  he  listened  to  these  words,  Mr.  Dale  felt  a  deep 
conviction  that  all  the  efforts  he  might  put  forth  to  find 
this  girl  would  be  wasted;  that  fate  had  swept  her  with 
one  gigantic  wave  out  of  his  reach  forever.  He  went 
back  to  the  detective  bureau,  paid  his  bill,  saying  that 
he  needed  nothing  more  at  present.  Then  he  pulled 
himself  together,  and  went  about  the  business  matters 
which  had  served  as  an  excuse  for  his  visit  to  New  York, 
giving  no  indication  to  the  gentlemen  whom  he  met 
that  a  pressure  calculated  to  drive  one  to  insanity  was 
weighing  him  down. 

He  returned  to  Boston  on  the  third  day,  firmly  con- 
vinced that  he  had  lost  his  heart's  love,  and  that  he 
would  never  find  her  in  this  world;  firmly  convinced, 
also,  that  there  was  no  consideration — even  the  health  of 
his  father — that  could  induce  him  to  become  a  living  lie 
in  the  person  of  Ida  Brace's  husband.  There  was  a  con- 
flict before  him  from  which  he  would  ordinarily  have 


134  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

shrunk  to  the  extent  of  submission.  He  must  meet  it 
now,  whatever  its  results,  with  a  firm  front. 

The  following  day  was  Sunday,  and  in  the  afternoon 
he  went  to  visit  his  fiancee.  The  sky  was  bright  and  the 
weather  warm,  and  Ida  responded  with  alacrity  to  his 
suggestion  of  a  walk.  The  route  selected  was  one  seldom 
traveled  much,  a  by-road  shaded  by  tall  trees.  When 
they  were  out  of  hearing  of  any  other  person,  Kingdon 
began  the  disagreeable  task  that  lay  before  him. 

"  Ida,"  he  said,  in  a  strained  voice,  "  I  have  brought 
you  here  to  make  a  confession." 

A  confession!  She  started  at  the  word,  for  she  dread- 
ed what  might  follow.  When  a  young  man  talks  of  mak- 
ing a  confession  to  the  girl  to  whom  he  is  engaged  it 
may  well  excite  her  apprehension. 

"  I  want  to  tell  my  story  in  a  straightforward  way," 
he  continued,  "  and  when  it  is  ended  I  want  you  to  for- 
give me,  if  you  can.  The  plain  truth  is  that  I  wish  a  re- 
lease from  the  promise  I  made  you  before  I  went  away. 
It  is  not  from  any  fault  with  you;  but  the  fact  is,  I  have 
gone  on  in  this  matter  against  my  judgment  from  the 
first — merely  to  please  my  father.  It  was  by  his  request 
— almost  by  his  command — that  I  spoke  the  formal 
words  to  you  on  the  eve  of  my  departure.  His  health 
was  so  poor  that  I  feared  to  cause  him  distress,  and  at 
the  time  I  really  thought  I  could  carry  out  the  plan  he 
has  had  so  long  at  heart.  But,  Ida.  I  cannot  do  it.  I 
have  no  such  sentiment  toward  you  as  a  man  should 
have  toward  his  intended  wife.  I  like  you  extremely 
well.  I  should  be  glad  to  think  I  could  always  share 
your  friendship.  Marriage  should,  it  seems  to  me,  be 
accompanied  with  warmer  feelings.  Unpleasant  as  it 
must  be  for  you  to  hear  this,  it  is  even  more  unpleasant 
for  me  to  tell  it.  I  will  go  further  and  say  that  I  con- 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  135 

sider  it  a  plain  duty  to  make  this  revelation,  for  a  mar- 
riage between  people  under  these  circumstances  could 
hardly  result  otherwise  than  as  a  curse  to  both  of 
them." 

Whatever  had  entered  the  mind  of  the  girl  when  the 
theme  of  a  confession  was  entered  upon,  she  was  wholly 
unprepared  for  what  she  heard.  It  was  quite  impossible 
for  her  to  make  a  verbal  reply  until  some  minutes  had 
passed,  during  which  the  walk  was  continued  slowly  and 
in  silence. 

"  I  wish  you  had  had  the  courage  to  tell  me  this  be- 
fore you  went  away,"  she  said,  at  last.  "  It  would  have 
been  easier  then  to  settle  the  matter.  Now,  when  our 
engagement  has  been  published  broadcast,  when  all  our 
friends  have  come  to  consider  it  as  a  matter  of  days 
when  we  are  to  be  married,  the  embarrassment  will  be 
terrible.  But,  I  don't  mean  to  influence  you  in  any  way. 
If  what  you  say  is  your  full  determination,  I  shall  only 
have  to  confide  it  to  my  mother  and  abide  by  her  ad- 
vice." 

He  was  relieved  that  she  took  it  so  calmly.  He  had 
half  expected  an  outburst  of  tears,  with  perhaps  a  tor- 
rent of  vituperation. 

"  One  thing  is  sure,"  he  said.  "  You  are  not,  accord- 
ing to  the  popular  use  of  the  term,  '  in  love '  with  me. 
There  will  be  no  heart-breakings." 

"  No,"  she  answered;  "  but  to  a  woman  there  are  other 
things  that  count  for  almost  as  much.  Pride,  fear  of  the 
slurs  of  the  world,  the  rearranging  of  a  life  that  seemed 
already  mapped  out.  Then,  this  has  been  a  favorite 
hope  of  both  our  parents.  I  have  thought  it  my  first 
duty  to  obey  my  mother.  I  have  conceived  that  her  re- 
gard for  me  was  so  great  that  her  advice  could  wisely  be 
followed.  It  will  be  a  great  blow  to  her,  I  feaJf." 


136  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND, 

Tears  had  come  at  last  into  her  eyes  and  voice,  but 
they  were  quickly  overcome.  Ida  Bruce  did  not  like 
to  exhibit  her  feelings  to  a  man  who  had  just  spoken  to 
her  in  this  manner. 

"  Well,  Ida,  I  have  a  great  deal  of  trouble  before  me, 
as  well  as  you,  if  that  helps  console  you,"  said  Kingdon. 
"  It  has  cost  me  something  to  come  to  these  conclusions. 
My  father  has  been  accustomed  to  give  his  commands 
to  me  and  rely  upon  my  implicit  obedience.  For  the 
first  time  since  I  can  remember  I  shall  have  to  make  a 
stand  against  his  will.  I  would  not  do  that  if  I  could  see 
any  honorable  way  to  please  him." 

He  thought,  as  he  thus  prated  of  honor,  of  the  Eng- 
lish girl,  and  his  cheek  reddened.  Then  he  thought  of 
her  desertion,  and  he  paled  again. 

"  Let  us  go  toward  home,"  suggested  Ida. 

She  wanted  to  be  as  soon  as  possible  under  the  guns 
of  the  maternal  fortress. 

There  was  nothing  more  to  be  said,  and  they  retraced 
their  steps.  Arriving  at  the  house,  Kingdon  was  about 
to  say  good  evening,  when  the  girl  interrupted  him. 

"  I  want  you  to  come  in  and  tell  mother  what  you 
have  told  me,"  she  said.  "  It  will  have  to  be  done  some 
time,  and  the  sooner  it  is  over  the  better." 

He  would  have  been  glad  to  escape,  but  he  saw  no 
valid  reason  to  refuse  her  request.  There  were  just  so 
many  steps  on  this  disagreeable  road,  and  he  might  as 
well  take  this  one  now  as  later. 

He  was  ushered  into  a  parlor  and  left  alone  for  what 
seemed  an  interminable  length  of  time.  But  Mrs.  Bruce 
came  at  last,  and  Ida  with  her.  The  widow  was  ap- 
parently quite  composed,  while  the  daughter  could  not 
conceal  the  fact  that  she  was  still  much  perturbed. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  137 

t 

"  Good  afternoon,  Kingdon,"  was  Mrs.  Brace's  greet- 
ing, at  the  same  time  taking  his  hand.  "Will  you 
please  tell  me  as  near  as  you  can  what  you  have  been 
telling  Ida?" 

"  Well,  it's  just  this,"  responded  Mr.  Dale,  "  in  a  nut- 
shell. I  had  never  been  in  love.  I  yielded  to  my  father's 
wishes,  trying  to  make  myself  believe  I  should  feel  dif- 
ferent about  it  when  the  time  came  to  marry.  And  I 
don't  feel  any  different.  I  feel  more  than  ever  as  the 
day  approaches  that  I  cannot  carry  out  the  plan.  I 
think  it  honest  and  fair,  both  to  her  and  to  me,  to  state 
the  case  exactly  as  it  is." 

Mrs.  Bruce  bowed  soberly. 

"Have  you  said  this  yet  to  your  father?"  she  in- 
quired. 

"  No.  I  wanted  to  present  the  situation  first  to  Ida, 
and  ask  her  to  release  me.  My  father  is  an  invalid,  and 
I  dread  the  effect  on  his  shattered  health.  I  thought, 
Mrs.  Bruce,  that  when  you  and  Ida  saw  the  situation  as 
it  is  you  would  help  me  close  the  engagement  in  a  way 
that  would  mitigate  my  father's  regret.  Surely,"  he 
added,  desperately,  "there  is  nothing  worse  than  to 
inarry  without  love!" 

The  widow  was  silent  for  a  moment. 

"  I  do  not  think,"  she  said,  "  that  you  realize  the  po- 
sition in  which  this  places  Ida.  Her  engagement  to  you 
was  announced  six  months  ago,  with  your  consent.  Con- 
gratulations have  been  showered  upon  her  from  a  hun- 
dred quarters.  Nearly  ever  since  your  departure  mil- 
liners and  dressmakers  have  been  at  work  making  prep- 
arations for  the  wedding.  It  has  even  been  settled  who 
are  to  be  invited,  and  most  of  the  guests  have  been  pri- 
vately apprised  of  the  fact,  in  order  to  give  them  time 
for  preparation.  An  engagement  is  considered  in  these 


138  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

days  a  very  serious  thing;  not  a  promise  to  be  broken  be- 
cause one  of  the  contracting  parties  takes  some  strange 
notion  into  his  head.  As  to  your  idea  of  not  loving  Ida 
sufficiently,  that  comes  in  thousands  of  cases  after  mar- 
riage instead  of  before.  I  cannot  say  that  I  had  a  senti- 
ment for  my  husband  strong  enough  to  be  called  t  love  ' 
on  the  day  we  were  united,  but  our  regard  for  each  other 
grew  hourly.  My  dear  Kingdon,  I  believe  you  have  been 
working  yourself  into  a  state  of  hypochondria,  from 
which  a  little  rest  and  right  thinking  will  relieve  you.3' 

But  to  this  he  shook  Ms  head  decidedly. 

"Nothing  whatever  will  change  me,"  he  exclaimed. 
"  There  are  reasons  which,  were  I  at  liberty  to  give 
them,  would  convince  you/' 

"  Are  these  reasons  anything,"  asked  the  lady,  slowly, 
"  that  reflect  upon  my  daughter?" 

"No!  no!    A  thousand  times  no!"  he  cried. 

"  Then  she  must  not  suffer  from  them,"  said  Mrs. 
Bruce,  decidedly.  "  Speaking  in  her  name,  I  must  de- 
clare that  we  shall  hold  you  to  your  agreement." 


"  Shall  insist,"  replied  the  lady,  impressively,  "  on 
your  carrying  out  your  promise  of  marriage." 

Mr.  Dale  rose. 

"  I  never  shall  carry  it  out,"  he  said.  "  Never,  Mrs. 
Bruce." 

"  People  have  changed  their  minds  before  now,"  was 
the  quiet  answer.  "  When  you  have  given  a  few  hours 
more  thought  to  this  matter  you  will  conclude  that  to 
inflict  suffering  upon  a  young  and  innocent  girl  does 
not  accord  with  your  highest  and  best  views  of  what  is 
right.  It  is  too  late  to  withdraw  from  your  plighted 
word.  Before  Heaven  you  are  pledged  to  each  other  al- 
most as  truly  as  if  the  clergyman  had  pronounced  the 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  139 

words.  But  let  us  say  no  more  about  it  now.  I  want 
you  to  think  this  over  for  another  day." 

He  uttered  an  exclamation  of  distress. 

"  Thinking  it  over  will  only  drive  me  mad!"  he  re- 
plied. "  I  have  thought  it  over  now  until  I  can  hardly 
cat  or  sleep.  I  know  it  is  an  injury  to  Ida;  if  it  was  only 
to  me  I  could  hear  it  better.  To  refuse  to  marry  her  pre- 
cipitates a  train  of  troubles;  to  marry  her  would  let  loose 
an  avalanche!" 

Not  daring  to  trust  himself  to  say  more,  the  young 
man  left  the  house,  and  walked  toward  his  own  home. 
He  meant  to  tell  his  father  everything,  and  have  an- 
other chapter  over  with,  but  he  saw  the  doctor's  carriage 
at  the  door,  and  learned  from  a  servant  that  Mr.  Dale, 
Sr.,  had  just  been  prostrated  by  one  of  his  attacks,  and 
was  in  a  very  precarious  condition. 


140  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

IDA   WARNED. 

During  the  days  that  immediately  followed,  Kingdon 
Dale  found  the  overwhelming  love  for  his  father,  that 
had  been  for  nearly  his  entire  life  a  passion  with  him, 
returning  with  irresistible  force.  To  sit  by  the  side  of 
his  parent,  ministering  to  him  according  to  the  doctor's 
directions,  was  his  only  consolation.  Edward  Dale  was 
fully  conscious,  but  too  weak  to  talk,  except  in  occasion- 
al whispers.  It  seemed  to  his  son,  however,  that  he 
could  read  but  one  thought  in  his  father's  mind,  and 
that  this  was  connected  with  the  marriage  on  which  he 
had  so  long  set  his  heart. 

The  physician,  at  the  end  of  a  week,  acceded  to  a  re- 
quest from  the  sick  man  to  permit  Mrs.  Bruce  and  her 
daughter  to  enter  his  chamber  for  a  few  moments,  sep- 
arately. The  widow,  with  rare  judgment,  contented  her- 
self with  a  moment's  stay  and  a  word  or  two  of  encour- 
agement. Ida,  who  had  not  seen  Kingdon  since  his  an- 
nouncement of  his  changed  views,  came  at  once  to  the 
bedside  and,  stooping  over  the  invalid,  imprinted  a  kiss 
on  his  wasted  cheek. 

Nothing  that  she  could  have  done  would  have  pleased 
Edward  Dale  more  than  this.  His  eyes  lighted  up  as  she 
rose.  Beckoning  to  Kingdon  to  draw  near,  he  took  one 
of  his  hands  and  one  of  Ida's  and  placed  them  together 
between  his  own.  It  was  a  significant  expression  of  his 
anticipation,  even  in  his  weak  condition  the  uppermost 
thought  in  his  brain. 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND.  141 

"With  rare  discretion  Miss  Bruce  allowed  the  incident 
to  pass  without  doing  anything  to  annoy  her  fiance,  if 
such  he  might  at  that  time  be  called.  Certainly  the 
young  man  did  not  think  it  an  opportune  moment  to  un- 
deceive his  trusting  parent.  When  the  interview  in  the 
sick  room  was  ended,  Kingdon  spoke  a  few  words,  re- 
lating strictly  to  his  father's  illness,  to  the  ladies  in  an 
ante-room,  and  they  returned  to  their  home. 

It  was  a  month  before  the  doctor  said  Edward  Dale 
might  leave  his  bed,  and  during  nearly  the  whole  of 
that  time  his  son  was  in  almost  constant  attendance 
upon  him.  Toward  the  last,  Kingdon  permitted  himself 
to  run  into  the  city  and  attend  to  a  little  business,  but 
his  absences  were  brief.  As  soon,  however,  as  his  father 
was  pronounced  out  of  danger,  he  was  anxious  to  absent 
himself  for  a  week  or  so.  He  made  the  excuse  at  home 
of  affairs  to  attend  to  in  New  York,  while  the  need  of 
rest  answered  the  same  purpose  at  the  office.  He  dread- 
ed a  renewal  of  the  conversations  with  his  father,  that 
would  certainly  refer  to  the  marriage.  And,  besides,  he 
wanted  to  seek  once  more  for  traces  of  his  lost  Mar- 
garet. 

Kingdon  had  not  entirely  given  up  his  endeavors  to 
locate  the  English  girl,  even  since  he  returned  to  Boston 
and  Newton.  He  had  placed  a  "personal"  advertise- 
ment in  two  of  the  metropolitan  papers,  asking  Miss  M. 
E.  to  communicate  with  the  friend  whom  she  had  left 
so  suddenly  in  New  York  on  such  and  such  a  date,  and 
promising  not  to  interfere  with  her  in  any  way,  pro- 
viding her  circumstances  were  satisfactory  to  her.  He 
had  also  offered  a  reward  to  whoever  would  send  him 
information  of  the  present  whereabouts  of  a  young  wo- 
man answering  her  description,  and  had  this  announce- 
ment inserted  not  only  in  New  York  papers,  but  in  those 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

of  Brooklyn,  Buffalo,  Cleveland,  Chicago  and  Philadel- 
phia. 

Nothing  had  been  heard  from  either  of  these  efforts, 
and  the  heartsick  young  man  felt  a  wild  longing  to  visit 
again  the  city  where  he  had  last  seen  his  idol,  in  the 
mad  hope  that  the  quicksand  which  had  engulfed  her 
might  cast  her  up  again  at  his  feet. 

He  made  his  plans  so  deftly  that  there  was  no  time  for 
his  father  to  talk  with  him,  beyond  a  simple  good-bye. 
Arriving  at  New  York,  he  conferred  again  with  the  firm 
of  detectives  he  had  formerly  employed,  and  assisted 
them  in  searching  the  various  lines  which  they  recom- 
mended. A  week  was  passed  in  this  way,  a  weary  week 
•without  a  trace  of  sunshine,  and  the  result  was — noth- 
ing whatever. 

What  Mr.  Dale  sustained  in  the  way  of  mental  pain 
during  that  week  the  reader  can  only  imagine.  His  love 
for  Margaret  Rivers  had  grown  with  every  hour  since  she 
left  him.  His  apprehensions  for  her  safety  doubled  as 
time  passed.  He  even  feared  that  in  desperation  she  had 
committed  suicide,  and  among  the  searches  he  made  was 
a  careful  inspection  of  the  self-destroyed  in  a  dozen 
cities,  from  lists  sent  to  the  detectives  by  request. 

When  he  returned  to  Boston  his  belief  that  he  would 
never  see  Margaret  again  was  solidified.  He  was  ac- 
tually giving  up  all  hope.  Life  would  be  to  him  a 
dreary  existence  unlit  by  love  of  woman,  a  mere  round 
of  business  cares,  of  plain  duties. 

The  other  thing  that  troubled  him  now  was  the  in- 
evitable conflict  with  his  father.  He  had  seen  this 
parent  hovering  on  the  edge  of  the  grave  too  recently 
not  to  dread  the  encounter.  But  come  it  must;  there 
was  no  escape. 

Kingdon  had  had  no  private  conversation  with  the 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND*  U3 

Bmces  since  he  announced  his  intention  of  breaking  the 
engagement,  but  on  the  day  of  his  return  from  New 
York  Mrs.  Bruce  sent  him  a  note  asking  for  an  inter- 
view. It  served  at  least  as  an  escape  from  his  father's 
tongue,  and  when  the  evening  arrived  Kingdon  pre- 
sented himself  at  the  widow's  residence. 

Ida  was  not  present,  for  which  he  was  thankful.  Dur- 
ing two  hours  he  was  subjected  to  Mrs.  Bruce's  ingenious 
arguments,  delivered  with  all  her  art  and  in  her  most 
agreeable  manner.  She  presented  the  case  in  a  dozen 
lights,  in  every  one  of  which  he  seemed  a  wretch  unfit 
for  decent  society  if  he  carried  out  his  scheme.  Still  he 
was  not  moved.  He  replied  to  everything  that  he  had 
made  up  his  mind;  that  he  could  not  bring  himself  to 
consummate  the  marriage.  He  was  very  sorry  for  Ida; 
he  would  give  anything  if  he  could  assuage  her  pain;  but 
marry  he  would  not. 

There  was  nothing  for  Mrs.  Bruce  to  do  after  this  but 
to  call  on  Mr.  Dale,  Sr.,  and  acquaint  him  with  the 
situation.  The  anger  of  the  father,  when  he  learned 
what  she  had  to  say,  knew  no  bounds.  When  his  son 
came  home  that  night  he  turned  upon  him  savagely, 
and  in  a  torrent  of  rage  demanded  his  reasons  for  this 
conduct.  Kingdon  seemed  calloused  by  what  he  had  en- 
dured, and  did  not  mind  as  much  as  he  once  would  have 
done  the  epithets  that  were  dinned  into  his  ears.  He 
replied  over  and  over  that  he  did  not  love  Ida,  and  that 
nothing  would  persuade  him  to  wed  her. 

Seeing  that  the  mode  of  attack  he  was  using  had  no 
effect,  Edward  Dale's  tone  changed  suddenly  to  a  plead- 
ing one.  He  said  he  had  a  terrible  secret  to  reveal  to  his 
son — one  that  made  this  marriage  an  absolute  necessity. 

"For  years,  Kingdon,"  he  explained,  seeing  the  as- 
tonished look  in  his  son's  eyes,  "  I  have  been  in  financial 


144  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BONB. 

difficulties.  I  have  prevented  the  truth  being  known, 
but  if  my  real  condition  was  public  to-day  I  should  be  in 
the  bankruptcy  court.  Miss  Bruce  is  rich.  With  an  al- 
liance between  our  families  everything  would  be  easy. 
You  are  my  only  child;  Ida  is  the  sole  heir  of  her  father. 
It  would  kill  me  to  have  my  affairs  dragged  into  the 
newspapers.  To  refuse  this  marriage  would,  therefore, 
not  merely  destroy  the  happiness  of  a  beautiful  girl 
who  has  trusted  you,  but  would  end  the  life  of  one  who 
has  no  other  hope  to  preserve  a  hitherto  honored  name." 

The  young  man  was  astounded.  He  had  imagined, 
while  giving  no  special  thought  to  the  matter,  that  his 
father  was  comfortably  off  in  this  world's  goods,  cer- 
tainly far  beyond  the  line  of  poverty.  They  had  always 
lived  well.  A  snug  sum  had  been  paid  into  the  spice 
concern  to  secure  the  partnership.  When  he  mentioned 
these  things  he  was  told  that  the  money  put  into  the 
firm  was  borrowed  on  heavy  interest,  and  with  this  mar- 
riage in  view  as  the  only  way  in  which  the  notes  could  be 
taken  up. 

It  was  not  a  very  honorable  transaction,  and  he  felt 
it  to  the  quick,  but  he  could  not  reproach  a  father  for 
what  he  had  done,  however  ill-advisedly,  for  his  benefit. 

He  began  to  grow  desperate.  One  by  one  all  the  props 
that  had  sustained  his  life  had  fallen  away.  His  deter- 
mination not  to  marry  grew  weaker,  even  before  he  was 
aware  of  the  change.  Since  he  could  not  hope  for  hap- 
piness himself,  was  it  worth  while  to  send  to  the  grave 
in  disgrace  the  parent  who  had  lavished  upon  him  the 
love  of  a  full  heart? 

"  Father,"  he  said,  with  a  deep  sigh,  "  let  me  think  of 
it  a  little  longer.  Give  me  a  few  days  to  consider." 

During  those  few  days  Kingdon  Dale  thought  inces- 
santly. Margaret  was  lost  to  him — he  no  longer  felt  any 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  U5 

doubt  of  that.  There  had  heen  but  two  beings  who 
had  ever  claimed  his  love,  and  only  one  of  them  was 
left.  Was  it  not  best,  on  the  whole,  to  make  this  sacri- 
fice? 

But  the  marriage — it  would  be  a  dreadful  thing  with- 
out love  on  either  side!  Well,  he  would  leave  that  to 
those  who  insisted  on  its  consummation.  If  Mrs.  Bruce 
and  her  daughter  were  satisfied,  he  could  stand  it  as  well 
as  they.  He  loved  Margaret  Eivers,  whether  she  were 
dead  or  living,  and  he  never  could  love  another  woman. 
If  he  told  Ida  that  his  heart  was  cold  toward  her,  and 
that  he  was  sure  it  never  would  be  otherwise — and  if  she 
accepted  him  on  those  terms — she  would  have  no  right 
to  complain  afterward. 

Would  she  consent  to  take  him  when  he  had  told  her 
this?  He  decided  to  test  the  matter. 

Going  directly  to  the  Bruce  residence,  he  sent  up  his 
card,  with  a  line  on  the  back,  asking  Ida  to  see  him 
alone.  Before  coming  down  she  had  a  council  of  war 
with  her  general-in-chief,  whose  advice  was  to  promise 
anything  whatever  in  order  to  bring  about  the  marriage 
on  the  day  originally  set.  Mrs.  Bruce  believed  fully 
that,  if  the  pair  were  once  united,  time — and  not  a  very 
long  time,  either — would  dispose  of  all  their  troubles. 
She  had  a  shrewd  knowledge  of  men,  and  great  confi- 
dence in  the  power  of  her  daughter's  beauty  to  win  over 
a  recalcitrant  husband. 

"  I  have  decided  to  be  very  plain  with  you,  Ida,"  said 
Kingdon,  when  he  had  taken  the  hand  of  Miss  Bruce, 
and  seen  that  the  door  was  latched  behind  her.  "  In  the 
first  place,  do  you  still  wish  to  hold  me  to  my  promise?" 

Miss  Bruce  bowed  modestly  in  the  affirmative,  at  the 
same  time  smiling  faintly.  She  bore  evidence  of  em- 
barrassment and  of  a  tendency  to  silence. 


146  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

"Very  well,"  said  the  young  man,  drawing  a  long 
breath.  "  Now,  my  father  has  had  a  serious  talk  with 
me,  and  I  have  concluded  to  please  him  if  I  can  do  so 
and  be  perfectly  honest  to  you.  I  do  not  love  you.  If 
you  take  me  in  marriage  you  will  take  my  name  only. 
I  shall  have  to  repeat  the  words  of  the  service,  or  to 
give  assent  to  them,  saying  I  will  love,  honor  and  cherish 
you  till  death,  and  keep  myself  unto  you,  and  all  that 
sort  of  thing;  but  it  must  be  understood  between  us, 
now,  that  I  shall  do  nothing  of  the  kind." 

A  complete  wave  of  crimson  spread  over  the  girl's  face 
as  she  listened. 

"  Excuse  me,"  she  said,  rising  and  moving  toward  the 
door,  "  I  would  rather  you  said  such  things  to  my 
mother." 

"  Whether  I  say  them  to  your  mother  or  to  you,"  he 
replied,  "  I  shall  never  vary  from  them.  I  have  re- 
solved that,  if  you  insist  upon  holding  me  to  my  word, 
I  will  go  through  the  marriage  ceremony  with  you.  Be- 
yond that  I  promise  nothing." 

It  was  not  polite  to  utter  these  expressions;  Mr.  Dale 
knew  that  very  well;  but  he  was  in  no  mood  for  polite- 
ness. While  announcing  his  change  of  mind  as  far  as 
the  ceremony  was  concerned  he  had  the  feeling  of  a  man 
coerced,  and  he  meant  to  make  his  dose  of  medicine  un- 
palatable to  others  as  well  as  to  himself.  He  was  de- 
termined, if  they  forced  him  into  an  alliance  which  he 
detested,  that  y  should  do  so  under  no  misconcep- 
tion. They  might  lead  the  horse  to  water,  but  they 
never  should  compel  him  to  drink. 

Miss  Bruce  bowed  low  as  she  left  him,  partly  to  con- 
ceal the  quiver  of  her  lip  and  partly  to  hide  the  tears 
that  sprang  in  spite  of  all  her  efforts  to  her  eyes.  She 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BUND.  U7 

sought  her  mother,  and  fell  on  that  lady's  neck  with  an 
outburst  of  sobs. 

"  Oh,  mother!"  she  cried.  "  It  is  too  much  to  ask  of 
me!  I  cannot  go  on  with  this.  He  has  become  positive- 
ly awful!" 

Slowly  the  widow  drew  the  truth  from  the  trembling 
mouth,  and  a  flush  of  indignation  mantled  her  brow  as 
she  heard  it. 

"  I  will  go  down  and  see  him,"  she  said,  sternly. 
"  Compose  yourself,  my  child.  The  marriage  must  take 
place.  When  it  is  over  he  will  forget  the  silly  notions 
that  now  cloud  his  brain.  It  must  take  place!"  she 
added,  with  determination.  "  Don't  mind  his  ravings, 
Ida.  In  a  week  after  you  are  wedded  he  will  forget  that 
he  ever  talked  such  nonsense,  and  you  will  laugh  to 
think  you  heeded  it." 

Descending  to  the  parlor,  Mrs.  Bruce  greeted  her 
caller  with  her  ordinary  good-nature.  She  had  a  game 
to  play,  and  diplomacy  must  be  used  to  the  last. 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  you,  Kingdon?"  she  asked, 
with  an  air  of  raillery.  "  How  can  you  frighten  my  lit- 
tle girl  with  goblins?" 

"  I  have  told  her  just  what  I  mean,"  he  responded, 
doggedly. 

"  And  I  respond  in  her  name  that  we  will  hope  for  a 
better  disposition  on  your  part,"  said  Mrs.  Bruce,  with  a 
smile.  "  There  are  now  but  a  few  weeks  before  the  date 
that  has  been  announced,  and  everything  will  be  ready 
on  our  side.  It  is  gratifying  to  hear  that  you  have  over- 
mastered vour  idea  of  breaking  your  word.  As  to  the 
rest,  let  us  leave  that  for  the  future.  If  love  has  not  yet 
lodged  in  your  bosom,  await  its  advent.  Ida  will  accord 
you  every  consideration,  now  that  she  understands  your 
mood." 


148  THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND. 

He  was  surprised  to  find  her  in  this  quiet  temper.  He 
would  have  been  better  prepared  for  an  outburst  of 
anger,  which  he  could  not  help  feeling  his  conduct  in 
some  measure  deserved. 

"  And  if  love  for  your  daughter  never  finds  lodgment 
in  my  breast?"  he  said,  slowly.  "  What  then?" 

Mrs.  Bruce  winced  a  trifle,  but  the  smile  of  good- 
humor  remained. 

"  And  is  this  all  that  now  stands  between  you  young 
people?"  she  asked,  as  if  it  was  very  little,  indeed. 

"  All!"  he  repeated.  "  Yes,  it  is  all.  I  do  not  think 
you  realize  what  an  l  all '  it  is." 

"  Then  let  us  turn  the  conversation  into  more  agree- 
able channels,"  she  replied.  "  Half  the  marriages  that 
take  place  nowadays  are  on  that  very  basis.  t  Nine-tenths 
of  them  come  out  better  than  those  of  young  hearts 
filled  with  ineffable  affection.  The  wedding  will  take 
place,  with  your  consent,  on  the  day  announced  so  long 
ago.  You  will,  I  presume,  cover  from  the  world  any 
scruples  you  may  have.  Your  father's  dearest  wish  will 
be  gratified;  I  shall  be  delighted,  and  as  for  yo.u  and  Ida, 
you  certainly  enter  the  connubial  state  with  a  full  un- 
derstanding on  a  most  important  matter." 

There  was  no  use  in  talking  longer  with  this  lady,  and 
Kingdon  acquiesced,  only  saying  that  he  would  like  a 
word  with  his  future  spouse  before  he  departed.  He 
wanted  an  explicit  understanding  between  the  three 
parties  to  this  compact. 

"  It  is  not  necessary,"  said  Mrs.  Bruce,  affably.  "  Ida 
understood  you  perfectly  in  the  first  place,  and  you 
may  guess  how  the  repetition  of  such  things  to  a  young 
girl  may  be  distressing.  I  assure  you  we  have  a  perfect 
accord  and  that  I  represent  her  wholly  in  promising  that 


THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND.  149 

she  shall  take  your  hand  in  marriage,  admitting  the  men- 
tal reservation  you  desire." 

When  the  young  man  had  gone,  Mrs.  Bruce  went  im- 
mediately to  her  daughter's  room,  where,  as  she  feared, 
she  found  Ida  stretched  on  a  bed,  dissolved  in  tears. 

"  It  is  done,"  said  the  voice  of  her  mother.  "  There 
will  be  no  talk  of  change  after  this." 

"  But/'  sobbed  the  girl,  raising  her  woe-begone  coun- 
tenance, "does  he  say  he  never  will  love  me,  that  he 
will  always  treat  me  with  coldness?" 

"Pshaw!"  was  the  reply.  "What  difference  does  it 
make  what  a  man  says  when  he  has  a  fit  of  temper? 
The  point  is  gained  that  the  ceremony  is  to  occur  on  the 
date  previously  arranged." 


150  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 


CHAPTEE  XVI. 

MATRIMONIAL  PERJURIES. 

To  the  many  friends  of  the  Dale  and  the  Bruce  fam- 
ilies, all  the  struggles  through  which  Kingdon  Dale  had 
passed  were  entirely  unknown.  The  wedding  had  been 
announced  long  before  for  a  certain  date,  and  on  that 
date  it  was  to  be  solemnized. 

Edward  Dale  brightened  perceptibly  when  his  son  in- 
formed him  that  there  was  to  be  no  more  discussion — 
that  he  had  given  his  definite  word  to  Mrs.  Bruce  and 
would  abide  by  it.  The  elder  gentleman  thought  as 
lightly  as  did  the  widow  of  the  dangers  of  uniting  in 
wedlock  a  couple  whose  relations  would  lack  something 
of  harmony. 

As  to  the  financial  troubles  that  annoyed  him,  the 
elder  Dale  felt  that  he  would  be  perfectly  justified  in 
presenting  the  case  to  Mrs.  Bruce  when  the  ceremony 
was  over,  and  asking  a  loan  from  the  large  fortune  which 
her  daughter  was  to  inherit. 

The  preparations  for  the  event,  now  but  a  few  weeks 
away,  progressed  with  renewed  rapidity.  Kingdon 
passed  his  time  at  his  business  office,  paying  occasional 
brief  and  very  formal  calls  to  his  betrothed,  and  plunged 
in  a  constant  state  of  dejection,  from  which  it  was  im- 
possible to  rally  him.  His  visits  to  Ida  were  without  any 
further  talk  in  reference  to  the  matters  that  divided 
them.  He  was  going  to  do  the  straightforward  thing, 
and  to  carry  it  off  in  such  a  way  that  the  public  would 
never  guess  his  real  state  of  mind.  That  was  the  new 
contract  he  had  assumed. 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND.  151 

Gordon  Hayne  called  occasionally  to  see  his  friend, 
sometimes  at  the  office  of  the  spice  company,  sometimes 
at  the  Newton  home.  He  alone  of  the  outsiders  knew 
that  something  not  down  in  the  bills  had  happened.  He 
had  seen  Kingdon  in  New  York  in  a  state  but  a  shade 
removed  from  insanity.  He  knew  that  in  spite  of  every 
effort  the  young  man  was  still  possessed  with  the  mental 
disturbance  that  had  then  manifested  itself.  It  was  easy 
to  see  that  the  coming  marriage  was  without  joy  to  him 
— that  it  was  to  be  entered  upon  unwillingly,  or,  at 
least,  without  enthusiasm. 

Gordon  spent  many  an  hour  in  contemplating  the  sit- 
uation, but  was  unable  to  guess  at  the  mystery.  He  could 
not  ask  direct  questions,  and  there  was  nothing  to  do 
but  watch  and  wait. 

Mr.  Hayne  was  a  frequent  visitor,  also,  at  the  home  of 
the  Bruces.  His  presence  there  served  to  divert  the  at- 
tention of  Ida  from  her  unpleasant  dilemma,  for  he  was 
bright  and  entertaining,  in  spite  of  the  muffled  tone 
which  he  always  used  to  her  when  they  were  alone.  It  is 
something  to  any  young  woman  to  feel  that  an  eligible 
youth  considers  her  unusually  attractive — that  he  would 
propose  for  her  hand  if  he  believed  there  was  any  chance 
of  success;  and  this  was  the  attitude  that  Gordon  con- 
stantly seemed  to  assume. 

"  You  are  engaged  to  my  friend — I  will  be  true  to  him 
in  all  my  words  and  acts — yet  I  do  not  think  him  worthy 
of  you;  and  my  heart  is  heavy,  both  for  my  loss  and  his 
gain." 

Eeduced  to  plain  words,  this  was  what  Gordon  Hayne 
seemed  to  say  over  and  over  to  Miss  Bruce,  without  ut- 
tering a  single  syllable  that  could  be  construed  into 
these  statements. 


152  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

And  Ida  sympathized  with  him  in  his  distress,  and 
thought  him  the  most  noble  and  magnanimous  of  men. 

"  It  is  only  two  weeks,"  he  said  to  her  one  day,  "  be- 
fore you  will  be  a  wife.  How  infinitely  happy  the  man 
must  be  who  looks  forward  to  that  hour!" 

It  was  not  irony,  she  said  to  herself,  as  the  untruth 
smote  on  her  brain,  for  certainly  Gordon  could  not  know 
the  secret  so  carefully  treasured  between  the  two  fami- 
lies. It  was  the  honest  expression  of  a  manly  heart. 

"  It  seems,"  he  continued,  "  as  if  Kingdon  was  going 
to  take  away  my  right  to  be  a  friend  to  you.  I  shall 
have  to  reconstruct  all  my  conduct  when  your  name  is 
Mrs.  Dale." 

"  By  no  means,"  she  responded,  quickly.  "  I  shall 
like  you  just  as  well  as  ever,  and  hope  to  see  you  just  aa 
often.  Marriage  does  not  compel  one  to  reconstruct  her 
list  of  friends;  and  you  know  you  stand  very  high  in 
mine." 

The  emotion  that  he  could  so  well  simulate  made  him 
turn  his  head  away,  lest  she  read  too  much  in  his  con- 
Tulsed  countenance.  Then  he  rose  and  said  he  remem- 
bered an  engagement  in  the  city. 

"I  am  sorry  you  are  going  so  soon,"  she  told  him. 
"  Come  as  frequently  as  you  can.  And  don't  fill  your 
head  with  silly  notions  that  I — that  mamma  and  I — will 
like  you  less  after — after  my  marriage." 

She  held  out  her  white  hand  to  him,  and  he  touched  it 
with  his  own. 

"  Have  you  decided  where  you  will  live?"  he  asked. 

"We  shall  have  rooms  in  the  city  for  the  present," 
she  replied,  choking  a  little  at  the  thought  of  leaving 
home. 

He  lingered  a  moment,  as  if  he  had  something  else  to 
say,  and  then,  bidding  her  a  sudden  "  Good-bye,"  went 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND.  153 

thoughtfully  out  of  the  house  and  down  the  walk.  She 
watched  him  till  he  was  out  of  sight,  with  a  "  Poor  fel- 
low!" on  her  lips  and  a  throb  of  the  purest  pity  in  her 
heart. 

The  wedding  took  place  at  the  Bruce  residence  in- 
stead of  in  church,  on  account,  as  was  stated,  of  the  ill- 
health  of  Edward  Dale,  which  made  it  safer  for  him  to 
avoid  the  uncertain  temperature  of  a  public  edifice. 
Kingdon  forced  himself  to  appear  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  evade  criticism.  In  the  morning,  being  alone  a  mo- 
ment with  Ida,  he  had  said  to  her,  "  You  understand 
fully  what  my  responses  to  the  clergyman  will  mean?" 
and  she  had  answered  with  a  bow  and  a  blush. 

Her  part  in  the  ceremony  was  quite  as  trying  as  his, 
but  both  bore  themselves  well.  All  the  expressions  with 
which  the  church  hedges  in  a  couple  who  have  declared 
their  desire  to  marry  were  uttered  by  the  clergyman  and 
acceded  to  verbally  by  the  man  and  the  woman. 

The  large  gathering  of  friends  of  the  contracting  par- 
ties could  not  suppress  a  murmur  of  admiration  as  Ida 
appeared.  She  was  gowned  with  even  more  than  her 
usual  taste,  and  her  luxuriant  beauty  of  figure  showed 
to  the  fullest  advantage.  Gordon  Hayne,  who  stood 
near  Sidney  Brooks,  had  a  twinge  that  was  not  all  sim- 
ulated, as  he  gazed  at  her.  It  flashed  through  his  mind 
that  his  resolutions  never  to  marry  would  receive  a  se- 
vere wrench  could  he  set  back  the  hands  of  the  clock  a 
few  months.  To  own  that  delectable  creature  in  fee 
pimple  was  surely  worth  the  sacrifice  of  freedom  which 
he  had  sworn  never  to  make. 

As  for  Mr.  Brooks,  his  habitual  paleness  was  accentu- 
ated. He  saw,  beyond  the  room  in  which  he  stood,  a 
eteamship  on  the  Atlantic,  and  this  man  who  was  to 
join  himself  in  wedlock,  sitting  by  the  side  of  another 


154  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

woman,  devoted  passionately  to  her  every  word  and 
movement.  He  saw  the  passenger  list,  with  the  names 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor.  And  this  was  less  than  three 
months  ago! 

It  seemed  as  if  he  ought  to  speak  when  the  clergyman 
asked  if  any  one  present  knew  any  reason  why  this  mar- 
riage should  not  proceed.  But  he  did  not,  and  the  fate- 
ful proclamation  that  this  couple  were  now  man  and 
wife  struck  like  a  note  of  evil  on  his  ear. 

The  end  of  the  service  marked  the  beginning  of  the 
reception.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dale  took  the  hands  of  a  hun- 
dred friends  and  bowed  their  thanks  for  the  congratu- 
lations showered  upon  them.  With  admirable  nerve 
they  answered  smile  for  smile,  and  neither  flinched  in 
the  least,  except  on  two  occasions.  The  husband  wa* 
manifestly  disturbed  when  he  saw  Mr.  Brooks  in  front 
of  him;  and  the  bride  knew  that  her  cold  fingers  trem- 
bled when  she  placed  them  in  the  palm  of  Gordon 
Hayne. 

"  God  bless  you,  my  dear  son!"  came  from  the  lips  of 
Edward  Dale,  when  his  turn  arrived,  and  the  face  of 
Mrs.  Walden  Brooks  was  positively  radiant  with  satis- 
faction. 

It  was  too  late  to  start  that  night  on  the  wedding  jour- 
ney, which  was  to  be  taken  to  the  "White  Mountains,  and, 
therefore,  a  suite  of  rooms  at  the  Vendome  had  been  en- 
gaged for  temporary  use.  About  ten  o'clock  the  wedded 
pair  bade  good-bye  to  their  friends,  who  would  still  re- 
main for  later  festivities,  and  were  driven  toward  the 
city. 

"  Well,"  said  Kingdon,  after  a  few  minutes  of  silence, 
•'  it  is  done." 

"  Y-e-s,"  was  the  monosyllabic  response,  uttered  in  a 
trembling  tone. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE    BOND.  15$ 

"And  you  remember — " 

"  Oh!"  she  interrupted,  "  don't  let  us  talk  of  anything 
unpleasant  just  yet.  I  am  fearfully  nervous,  from  a 
hundred  reasons,  and  a  very  little  will  make  me  give 
way." 

At  these  pleading  words  a  wave  of  shame  swept  over 
him.  He  saw  how  needlessly  repellant  he  had  been 
making  himself  to  her. 

"Ida,"  he  cried,  "I  ask  your  forgiveness.  I  mean 
to  make  your  situation  as  agreeable  as  is  possible  under 
the  circumstances.  Like  you,  I  am  in  a  nervous  mood, 
for,  although  I  am  a  man,  I  have  had  things  to  make  me 
almost  a  child.  Here,"  he  added,  impetuously,  "  let  me 
take  your  hand.  Let  us  agree  to  be  friends,  if  nothing 
else." 

She  gave  him  the  hand,  encased  in  its  glove,  and  he 
held  it  from  sheer  forgetfulness. 

"  We  ought  to  reach  the  hotel  in  an  hour,  easily/'  he 
continued.  "  That  will  give  a  long  night  to  rest,  as  the 
train  we  are  to  take  does  not  leave  until  nine.  It  is  a 
beaiitiful  ride  to  the  mountains — I  think  you  told  me 
you  had  never  taken  it?  Everything  in  nature  there  is 
iovely  at  this  season — lovelier  to  my  mind  than  in  mid- 
summer. The  foliage  has  begun  to  change  and  some 
of  the  effects  are  magnificent.  Then  the  hotel  at  which 
we  shall  stay  is  one  of  the  best,  and  the  drives  in  the 
vicinity  are  superb." 

She  listened  to  him  gladly,  thankful  that  he  should 
pursue  any  subject  except  the  one  she  dreaded,  and  he 
talked  on  at  random  until  the  lights  of  Boston  began  to 
thicken  around  them.  At  last  the  carriage  turned  a 
corner,  and  they  were  in  stately  Commonwealth  avenue, 
passing  the  homes  of  princes,  built,  as  is  the  street  itself. 


156  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

upon  filled  land  rescued  a  quarter  century  ago  jfrwa  the 
ocean  waves. 

At  the  hotel  he  had  but  to  mention  his  name,  and  the 
apartments  engaged  were  instantly  placed  at  his  dis- 
posal. 

"  We  had  hest  say  good-night,"  said  Kingdon,  when 
they  were  alone,  "  as  we  both  feel  fatigued  after  the 
events  of  the  day.  I  have  engaged  three  rooms  and  a 
bath,  en  suite.  You  will  sleep  there,  only  separated  by 
this  little  partition  from  me.  If  you  want  anything  in 
the  night,  call  me  at  once.  If  you  rap  on  the  wall  ever 
so  little  I  shall  hear  you." 

He  had  turned  away  and  taken  a  step  from  her,  when 
his  bride,  overcome  by  the  strange  sensations  that  filled 
her  head,  touched  him  on  the  sleeve.  As  he  faced  her 
again,  she  opened  her  arms  and  stretched  them  toward 
him. 

"  Mr.  Dale — Kingdon,"  she  said,  gutturally,  "  don't 
leave  me  like  this!  I  am  afraid  to  be  alone  in  this  house 
—I  never  was  in  such  a  position  before.  If  I  am  shut 
away  from  you  by  a  door  I  shall  have  hysterics." 

Her  alarm  was  too  real  to  be  doubted,  and  he  has- 
tened to  calm  her. 

"  Both  of  the  bedrooms  open  from  this  salon,"  he  said, 
"  as  you  can  see.  I  will  leave  my  door  wide  open,  and 
you  can  do  the  same.  There  is  no  entrance  to  the  suite 
except  this  one  here,  which  I  will  now  bolt  as  well  as 
lock.  We  shall  be  substantially  in  one  room  all  the 
time." 

She  followed  with  her  eyes  the  objects  at  which  he 
pointed. 

"  But  there  is  no  need  of  haste,"  she  protested,  though 
in  a  mollified  tone.  "  It  is  still  early.  We  can  sit  up  a 
little  while." 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  157 

"  Certainly,  if  you  wish.  I  am  not  sleepy,  to  tell  the 
truth.  Wouldn't  you  like  a  lunch  sent  up?"  he  said, 
good-naturedly. 

She  assented,  thinking  it  the  surest  way  to  consume 
time,  and,  besides,  she  felt  a  trifle  faint  and  thought  c 
mouthful  of  something  would  do  her  good. 

The  effect  of  the  lunch  was  what  should  have  been 
expected.  It  restored  to  both  of  them  something  of 
their  natural  serenity.  A  little  before  one  o'clock  Ida 
proposed  of  her  own  accord  that  they  retire.  Her  last 
request  of  her  husband  was  to  make  sure  that  he  left  his 
door  wide  open.  Then  she  closed  her  own,  and  in  a  sort 
of  instinct  locked  it.  He  had  to  knock  several  times  in 
the  morning  before  he  could  awaken  her,  and,  on  com- 
paring notes  at  breakfast,  he  admitted  that  he  had  also 
slept  very  well. 

The  first  night  of  their  married  life  had  been  passed 
with  no  especially  disagreeable  episode.  This  was  some- 
thing. 

On  the  way  to  the  railway  station  an  event  occurred 
which  set  all  his  blood  in  motion.  He  was  talking  in  an 
ordinary  tone  to  Ida  about  the  journey  they  had  begun, 
when,  happening  to  glance  from  the  carriage  window, 
he  saw  a  figure  on  the  sidewalk  that  caused  his  words 
to  freeze  in  his  mouth.  Either  there  were  two  women  in 
the  world  who  looked  exactly  alike,  or  he  had  beheld 
Margaret  Rivers  in  that  Boston  street! 

His  impulse  was  to  stop  the  carriage  and  run  after 
her,  but  the  reasons  against  this  procedure  came  to  his 
mind  contemporaneously  with  it.  He  might  not  find 
her  in  that  crowd,  with  the  diverging  streets  running  in 
fifty  different  directions.  If  he  succeeded,  there  could 
be  no  more  inopportune  occasion  to  learn  what  he  want- 
ed to  know.  He  had  barely  time  enough  to  catch  the 


158  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

train.  He  could  neither  abandon  his  wife  nor  ask  her  to 
accompany  him  on  his  peculiar  mission. 

If  the  English  girl  was  living  in  Boston,  as  from  her 
manner  he  judged  she  must  be,  it  would  be  no  very  diffi- 
cult matter  to  locate  her.  Boston  was  not  New  York. 
A  determined  attempt  would  be  almost  certain  to  suc- 
ceed. And,  besides,  the  ceremony  of  yesterday,  which 
bound  him  to  the  woman  at  his  side,  cut  him  off  forever 
from  the  wild  hope  that  Margaret's  discovery  would  have 
brought  two  days  earlier.  He  would  hunt  for  her,  and, 
if  permitted,  would  assist  her;  but  to  marry  her — that 
was  now  a  dead  dream  of  the  dead  past. 

The  carriage  was  flying  rapidly  along,  for  the  clock 
on  the  outside  of  the  station  was  in  sight,  and  the  driver 
realized  that  he  had  no  time  to  spare.  Kingdon's  sud- 
den start  had  not  been  lost  upon  his  companion,  but  she 
had,  of  course,  not  the  faintest  suspicion  of  its  cause. 
No  mood  that  he  would  be  likely  to  assume  was  in  any 
danger  of  surprising  her  particularly. 

The  horses  dashed  up  to  the  archway  and  entered  it. 
The  driver  descended  with  alacrity  and  helped  out  his 
passengers. 

"  Three  minutes  left,"  he  said,  brightly.  "  You  have 
your  tickets,  I  understand.  Third  track  on  the  right." 

During  the  hours  that  passed  before  the  Crawford 
House  was  reached,  Mr.  Dale  said  very  little  to  his  wife. 
He  ordered  a  lunch  for  both  at  the  proper  hour,  and 
assisted  in  disposing  of  it.  The  rest  of  the  time  he  was 
wrapped  in  thought.  Ida  was  not  wholly  displeased  at 
this  turn  in  affairs,  for  silence  was  at  least  better  than 
a  return  to  distasteful  subjects,  of  which  she  was  con- 
stantly in  dread.  Kiagdon's  manner  was  courteous,  and 
she  did  not  deem  it  wise  to  disturb  his  reverie. 

The  first  thing  he  did  after  arriving  at  the  Crawford 


THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND.  159 

House  was  to  carry  out  a  project  which  he  had  formed 
during  the  day.  He  wrote  this  letter  and  mailed  it  to 
Sidney  Brooks: 

MY  DEAR  SIDNEY:  I  am  going  to  ask  you  to  do  some- 
thing for  me — as  a  lawyer.  I  wish  you  to  treat  it  as  a  busi- 
ness matter,  and  to  keep  it  secret  as  between  an  attorney 
and  his  client.  I  think  you  will  remember  a  Mrs.  Taylor, 
who  crossed  from  Gibraltar  to  New  York  on  the  same  boat 
with  you  last  summer.  She  is  in  Boston  and  I  want  her 
address.  I  authorize  you  to  employ  whatever  help  you 
need.  She  is  also  sometimes  known  by  the  name  of  Mar- 
garet Rivers.  Her  personal  description  is  known  to  you. 

Upon  securing  any  information  which  you  believe  of 
value,  please  send  word  immedately  to  the  Crawford 
House,  N.  H.f  where  I  expect  to  remain  a  week.  Very 
truly,  KINGDON  DALE. 

N.  B. — This  is  a  business  matter  solely,  and  never  to 
be  mentioned  between  us  in  any  other  way.  K.  D. 

This  letter  was  delivered  to  Mr.  Brooks  on  the  fol- 
lowing afternoon  at  his  Boston  office.  He  read  it 
through  twice,  and  then  wrote  the  following  answer: 

Mr.  Kingdon  Dale,  Crawford  House,  N.  H. 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  In  answer  to  your  communication,  Just 
received,  allow  me  to  say  that  the  business  which  you  de- 
sire me  to  transact  does  not  come  within  the  sphere  of  the 
legal  profession.  I  have  never,  let  me  add,  followed  the 
trade  of  a  spy  or  a  pander.  Yours,  SIDNEY  BROOKS. 

When  this  reached  Mr.  Dale  he  was  for  a  time  in  a 
etate  of  rage  bordering  on  dementia.  But  as  time  passed 
he  began  to  realize  how  the  matter  had  presented  itself 
to  the  mind  of  Mr.  Brooks.  He  knew  that  Kingdon  had 
passed  for  ten  days,  at  least,  as  the  husband  of  the  wo- 
man he  now  sought,  and  every  action  of  his,  from  the 
day  he  met  him  on  the  boat  at  Gibraltar  to  that  of  his 


160  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

marriage  with  Miss  Bruce,  proved  that  the  pretense  was 
faJse.  Now,  while  on  his  wedding  journey,  he  had  ap- 
parently sought  to  enlist  his  friend's  aid  in  renewing  the 
illicit  relations.  It  certainly  had  not  an  agreeable  look, 
and  Dale  was  disposed,  the  more  he  thought  of  it,  to  for- 
get the  bitter  sarcasm  of  the  lawyer's  letter. 

However,  the  necessity  of  finding  Margaret  and  of  as- 
certaining if  she  had  the  necessaries  of  life  still  re- 
mained. His  marriage  had  not  relieved  him  of  that 
duty. 

Not  feeling  inclined  to  intrust  his  mission  again  to  the 
mails,  he  passed  a  long  and  dreary  week  at  Crawford 
Notch  without  doing  anything  about  the  matter.  His 
mind  was  so  filled  with  it  that  he  never  thought  of  en- 
tering on  further  debate  with  his  wife  as  to  what  their 
future  should  be,  for  which  she  was  thankful.  Her  life 
at  the  hotel  was  not  very  cheerful,  but  it  might  have 
been  worse  had  he  chosen  to  discuss  on  all  occasions 
the  unhappy  questions  that  divided  them. 

The  week  ended  at  last,  and  the  wedded  pair  returned 
to  Boston,  where  the  rooms  they  expected  to  occupy  for 
the  winter  were  ready  to  receive  them. 

Both  were  glad  to  return.  She  wanted  to  see  again 
her  idolized  mother,  and  he  believed  it  could  be  but  a 
few  days  now  before  he  would  stand  face  to  face  with 
Margaret. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  161 


CHAPTER  XVH. 

"WHAT  DO  YOU  EXPECT?" 

Mr.  Gordon  Hayne,  as  the  reader  is  already  aware,  was 
not  a  man  of  impeccable  virtue.  Possessed  of  a  hand- 
some face  and  figure,  dressed  invariably  by  the  best 
tailors,  endowed  with  the  most  agreeable  manners,  and 
with  a  fortune  to  spend  as  he  pleased,  he  found  much 
satisfaction  in  the  society  of  the  fair  sex,  and  did  not 
limit  his  acquaintance  to  those  of  unquestionable  char- 
acter. A  pretty  face  was  as  apt  to  attract  him  among 
the  crowd  on  a  sidewalk  or  at  a  public  entertainment 
as  if  he  had  been  introduced  in  the  most  formal  manner. 

He  tried  to  believe  himself  a  very  miserable  person 
when  he  returned  to  his  rooms  in  the  city  on  the  night 
of  Ida  Bruce's  marriage,  The  physical  charms  of  the 
"bride  had  appealed  to  his  senses  in  an  unusual  degree. 
He  had  known  women  who  were  beautiful;  but  none  of 
them  possessed  the  attractions  that  had  gone  to  this  un- 
appreciative  fellow,  who  was  as  fit,  he  thought,  to  judge 
their  value  as  a  wooden  image. 

He  tossed  restlessly  on  his  bed,  and  found  sleep  only 
when  the  morning  light  began  to  illumine  the  room  in 
which  he  lay.  The  next  day  he  was  gloomy,  and  hid 
himself  from  his  usual  associates.  The  third  day  he 
was  a  little  better,  but  still  morose.  In  the  evening  he 
went  for  a  walk  among  the  by-streets  of  the  city,  for 
the  sake  of  getting  the  air  and  still  run  no  risk  of  meet- 
ing acquaintances. 

The  extent  to  which  the  present  Mrs.  Dale  had  filled 


162  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

his  mind  did  not,  however,  prevent  his  noticing  each 
comely  face  or  pretty  form  that  he  encountered.  And 
at  one  of  the  corners  he  met  a  young  girl  in  whose  per- 
sonality he  was  immediately  interested. 

The  face  into  which  he  looked  was  not  exactly  hand- 
some, and  yet  it  had  a  fascination  ahout  it  that  fixed 
and  held  the  gazer.  There  seemed  a  whole  history  in 
the  large  dark  eyes,  at  once  shrinking  and  inquiring. 
The  girl's  dress  was  very  plain,  and  its  materials  were 
black. 

Interested  to  a  remarkable  degree  almost  before  he 
was  aware  of  it,  Mr.  Hayne  followed  the  figure,  which 
had  turned  at  the  corner  and  gone  down  a  side  street. 
He  was  idle;  he  had  nothing  else  to  do.  If  anything 
came  of  this  pursuit,  well  and  good;  if  nothing  resulted, 
what  would  it  matter? 

It  was  soon  apparent  that  the  girl  was  walking  in 
much  the  same  way  as  himself,  with  no  particular  des- 
tination. She  crossed  her  own  path  several  times,  go- 
ing up  a  street  and  down  another,  returning  as  often  as 
otherwise  to  the  original  location. 

Several  times  light  remarks  were  addressed  to  her  by 
young  fellows  at  the  corners.  The  only  attention  she 
paid  to  these  observations  was  to  quicken  her  pace,  with- 
out turning  her  head. 

Mr.  Hayne  managed  to  keep  the  .girl  in  sight  without 
appearing  to  observers  to  be  on  her  trail.  He  noted 
with  pleasure  that  she  was  not,  apparently,  a  woman  of 
the  town,  judged  by  her  lack  of  attention  to  the  remarks 
alluded  to.  She  was  either  what  she  seemed,  a  virtuous 
girl,  or  searching  for  a  lover  who  was  expected  to  keep 
tryst  in  this  vicinity.  She  was  poor,  without  a  doubt, 
and  those  who  possess  wealth  always  expect  to  derive  an 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  163 

•advantage  from  th«  poverty  of  others.  She  was  vrorth 
following. 

At  last,  seeing  the  girl  go  into  a  street  which  had 
but  one  outlet,  Gordon  waited  and  watched  her.  She 
must  either  enter  one  of  the  houses  on  this  short  way  or 
return.  It  was  soon  evident  that  she  was  going  to  pur- 
sue the  latter  course,  for  she  showed  signs  of  surprise 
when  she  reached  the  end  of  the  street  and  discovered 
that  it  went  no  farther.  She  came  back  slowly,  and 
when  she  reached  Mr.  Hayne  there  were  no  other  per- 
sons within  hearing. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  miss,"  he  said,  in  a  pleasant 
voice,  and  stepping  in  front  of  her.  "  May  I  speak  to 
you  for  a  moment?" 

It  was  the  first  time  she  had  noticed  him,  for  her  eyes 
had  been  fastened  upon  the  pavement  during  most  of 
her  walk.  She  looked  up  with  a  startled  surprise.  A 
glance  told  her  that  he  was  a  very  well-dressed  gentle- 
man, and  her  natural  instinct  whispered  that  he  could 
want  nothing  good  of  her. 

"  I  do  not  know  you,"  she  responded,  in  a  trembling 
voice.  "  You  have  no  right  to  address  me." 

She  resumed  her  walk,  more  rapidly  than  before.  But 
Gordon,  who  knew  the  lessons  of  street  acquaintance 
by  heart,  was  not  in  the  least  discouraged  by  the  rebuff. 
He  followed  after  her,  murmuring  in  the  sweetest  voice 
that  she  ought  not  to  misjudge  him;  that  she  had  his 
highest  respect,  and  that  if  she  would  give  him  but  a 
minute  he  would  prove  the  assertion. 

It  was  a  sight  familiar  enough  in  most  cities.  As  the 
pair  progressed  on  their  journey  through  the  streets 
they  were  observed  by  more  than  one  passer,  who 
stopped  and  surveyed  them  with  an  air  of  amusement. 
The  girl  was  walking  fast,  with  her  face  turned  from  the 


164  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

man  at  her  side,  whose  persistence  Buffered  nothing  from 
the  manner  in  which  his  addresses  were  received. 

The  crowdi  increased  as  the  girl  neared  he?  home, 
oiid  laughter  came  from  various  groups  at  the  spectacle 
[  created.  But  the  feather  that  was  to  break  the  hack  of 
the  camel  came  when  a  half-drunken  loafer  reeled  from 
the  brilding  against  which  he  had  been  leaning,  and  put 
his  hand  on  the  girl's  shoulder,  while  he  shouted  a  whol- 
ly unprintable  invitation  in  her  ear. 

The  girl  stopped  as  if  she  had  been  shot,  and  shook 
with  fear.  The  disagreeable  quality  of  Mr.  Hayne's  itrt<- 
portunities  were  as  nothing  compared  with  this  assault. 
His  tones  had  at  least  been  kindly,  his  words  those  of  a 
gentleman.  In  the  dilemma  in  which  she  wag  now 
placed,  she  turned  instinctively  to  him  for  protection 
from  the  greater  danger. 

"  Oh,  sir!"  was  all  she  could  articulate,  but  her  wish 
was  clearly  understood.  Taking  the  loafer  by  the  coat- 
collar,  Hayne  whirled  him  around  like  a  top,  ending  by 
leaving  him  in  a  heap  on  the  pavement,  Luckily  the 
fellow  found  no  sympathy  from  his  companions,  who 
seemed  rather  pleased  than  otherwise  at  his  mishap. 
Seeing  that  the  coast  was  now  clear,  and  that  an  op- 
portunity wholly  unexpected  had  placed  the  young  wo- 
man under  obligations  to  him,  Gordon  drew  her  not  un- 
willing arm  through  his  own,  and  lost  no  time  in  putting 
a  good  distance  between  them  and  the  late  collision. 

'*  I  thank  you  very  much,  indeed,"  said  the  feminine 
Toice,  when  they  were  safely  away  from  the  place.  "  And 
now,  if  you  please,  leave  me  here — I  am  obliged  to  go 
home — " 

"  My  dear  child,"  interrupted  Hayne,  "  let  me  at  least 
accompany  you  to  your  door.  You  are  possessed  with  a 
notion  that  I  intend  you  some  harm,  and  are  almost  aJ 


THEIR  MARRIAGE   POND.  165 

much  afraid  of  me  as  you  were  of  that  rascal  below.  I 
am  a  gentleman,  and  have  lived  in  Boston  all  my  life.  I 
wonder  what  there  is  about  me  that  makes  you  want  to 
run  away.  Do  I  really  look  such  a  terrible  villain?" 

She  stole  another  glance  at  him,  and  was  partially  re- 
assured by  the  engaging  smile  on  his  countenance. 

"It  is  not  that,  sir,"  she  stammered,  ~but  there  is 
nothing  in  common  between  a  poor  girl  like  me  and  an 
elegant  gentleman  like  you.  If  you  wish  to  do  me  a  real 
kindness,  you  will  leave  me  here." 

"To  be  insulted  by  another  drunken  wreteh  1"  be  ex- 
claimed. "No,  I  must  see  you  safely  home.  It  is  evi  < 
dent  you  are  not  used  to  the  treatment  you  have 
just  received.  I  judge  that  you  are  a  stranger  in  Bos- 
ton." 

In  spite  of  herself  she  was  being  drawn  into  acceding 
to  his  proposition,  and  she  felt  herself  growing  less  and 
less  afraid. 

ts  I  have  not  lived  here  long,"  she  responded,  resuming 
her  walk.  "  I  do  not  know  the  streets  very  well.  I  only 
left  my  room  to  breathe  the  air,  with  no  partiquja?  er- 
rand in  view." 

He  laughed  brightly. 

t(  How  remarkable!"  he  said. f(  That  is  exactly  my  own 
case.  I  had  spent  the  whole  day  indoors,  and  felt  the 
necessity  of  a  stroll.  Do  you  live  far  froni  here?'' 

"  No."  She  named  the  street,  "  J  think  it  is  only  five 
minutes.  I  can  find  it,  sir,  alone,  and  I  am  sure  no  one 
will  molest  me  now/* 

But  he  would  not  listen.  The  street  to  which  she  was 
bound,  he  said,  was  on  the  direct  road  he  was  obliged 
to  take,  and  it  was  best  that  they  go  together, 

At  the  doorway  of  a  poor  lodging  house  she  stopped, 
and  announced  that  this  was  where  she  lived. 


166  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

The  extreme  poverty  of  the  surroundings  would  or- 
dinarily have  prevented  a  wish  to  go  farther,  But  there 
was  something  about  this  girl  that  made  Mr.  Hayne  es- 
pecially loth  to  leave  her. 

"  Does  your  family  live  here?*'  he  asked,  surveying  the 
front  of  the  house. 

"  I  have  no  family,"  she  replied,  unguardedly.  "  I  am 
all  alone/' 

The  sympathy  written  on  his  face  aroused  an  answer- 
ing chord  in  the  girl's  breast.  She  did  not  like  to  be  im- 
polite to  him. 

"Don't  think  me  inquisitive,"  he  said,  "but  I  am 
wonderfully  interested  in  you.  You — work  for  a  living 
— I  suppose?" 

She  bowed  her  head  with  a  blush. 

"I  do  sewing." 

"  It  does  not  pay  very  well,  I  am  afraid." 

She  did  not  answer.  She  was  trying  to  think  of  the 
best  way  to  end  the  conversation.  She  had  reached  her 
home  now,  and  there  was  no  longer  any  excuse  for  his 
remaining. 

A  rough-looking  man  came  out  of  the  house  and  ad- 
dressed the  lodger. 

"  It  is  against  the  rules  to  talk  on  the  sidewalk  in 
front  of  the  house,"  he  said,  harshly.  "  Either  take  your 
friend  inside,  or  go  away  with  him." 

Quick  to  seize  the  opportunity,  Mr.  Hayne  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  girl's  confusion,  and  replied,  "  Certainly, 
we  will  go  in.  Just  for  a  moment,"  he  added,  in  a  low 
tone. 

There  was  no  way  to  stop  him  except  by  a  debate, 
which  she  did  not  wish  her  landlord  to  hear,  and  the 
girl  led  the  way  uneasily  to  the  third  floor,  where  she 
paused  with  a  key  in  her  hand. 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  167 

"You  claim  to  be  a  gentleman,"  she  said  then,  in 
tones  of  entreaty.  "  If  you  are  one,  I  beg  you  to  leave 
me." 

"  I  will  do  so  in  three  minutes,  if  you  insist/'  he  re- 
plied, lowering  his  voice.  "  To  go  now  would  subject 
me  to  suspicion  from  that  pleasant  proprietor  of  yours. 
Why,  my  child,  I  wouldn't  harm  you  for  the  world." 
He  took  out  his  watch.  "  Three  minutes.  I  swear  it!" 

She  inserted  the  key  in  the  lock  and  let  him  follow 
her.  The  room  into  which  they  entered  was  poorly 
furnished,  but  as  neat  as  possible.  He  took  in  every- 
thing at  a  glance. 

"  You  see,"  she  said,  biting  her  lips.  "  There  is  noth- 
ing to  attract  you.  I  am  a  poor,  working  girl;  nothing 
more." 

"  As  I  supposed,"  he  replied,  sympathetically.  "  But 
I  also  see  that  you  were  not  always  in  that  rank.  You 
have  had  an  education.  Your  speech  and  manners  show 
that  you  were  well-born  and  have  moved  in  better  so- 
ciety. No,  don't  speak  just  yet.  I  am  mindful  of  my 
promise.  I  have  hardly  two  minutes  left.  I  want  you  to 
do  me  a  favor." 

She  surveyed  him  with  wide-open  eyes,  her  expres- 
sion not  unmixed  with  doubt. 

"  I  want  you  to  accept  a  little  present." 

She  shrank  away,  exclaiming,  "  No,  no!"  but  he  per- 
sisted. 

"  Let  us  not  waste  time."  He  held  the  watch  in  his 
hand  while  he  talked.  "  I  have  a  fortune,  the  income  of 
which  is  several  times  greater  than  my  wants.  There 
is  no  sensible  reason  why  you  should  not  accept  a  trifle, 
when  it  is  so  evident  that  you  can  find  good  use  for  it." 

He  laid  several  bank  notes  on  the  table. 


168  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

"  What  do  you  expect  in  return  for  this  money ?"  she 
asked,  huskily. 

"  In  return  for  the  money — nothing.  To  be  candid, 
however,  I  do  hope  that  you  will  let  me  call  again,  now 
I  have  convinced  you  that  my  purposes  are  honorable." 

She  sat  down  and  commenced  to  weep. 

"  By  the  promise  I  made,  and  which  I  mean  to  keep," 
said  Hayne,  "  I  have  less  than  a  minute  left.  Before  I 
go,  will  you  tell  me  your  name,  so  that  I  may  have  the 
appearance  of  an  honest  man  when  I  call  for  you?" 

There  was  a  knock  on  the  door.  Hastily  wiping  her 
eyes,  the  young  woman  went  to  open  it. 

"Well,  have  you  got  the  rent?"  said  a  voice,  which 
Hayne  recognized  at  once  as  that  of  the  disagreeable 
person  he  had  seen  below  stairs. 

"  To-morrow  I  will  get  it,"  she  answered,  with  a  feel- 
ing of  shame  that  the  gentlemanly  appearing  visitor 
should  hear  the  demand. 

"  You  have  told  me  that  twice.  I  do  not  run  a  free 
lodging  house.  I  shall  wait  no  longer.  In  the  morn- 
irg  you  will  be  put  out.  You  understand?" 

The  man's  steps  were  heard  descending,  and  the  girl 
caine  back  into  the  room  with  renewed  tears  on  her 
cheeks. 

Mr.  Hayne  stood  there  awaiting  her. 

"  My  time  has  all  expired,"  said  he,  putting  the  watch 
in  his  pocket.  "  Shall  I  go?" 

She  looked  at  him  with  blinded  eyes,  and  then  at  the 
Lank  rotes  on  the  table. 

"Don't  leave  that  money,"  she  said.  "I  cannot 
take  it." 

"  You  prefer  to  let  the  fellow  who  just  called  execute 
his  threat?" 

She  drew  a  long  breath  as  of  despair. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  169 

''  If  he  puts  you  out  to-morrow,  what  will  you  do  ?" 

"  Ah!"  ehe  cried,  lifting  her  hands,  "  there  is  always  a 
last  resort!" 

"And  you  would  rather  embrace  it  than  take  this 
money,  which  I  oiler  you  freely?" 

She  seemed  to  consider  the  two  horns  of  the  dilemma. 

"  I  promised  you  to  go  in  three  minutes,"  he  said.  "  I 
am  ready  to  keep  my  word.  But  is  it  not  best  that  I  sit 
down  with  you  a  moment  longer  and  see  if  we  cannot 
have  an  understanding?" 

She  nodded,  motioning  him  to  resume  his  seat.  In  a 
moment  so  very  desolate  it  wag  better  to  run  some  riska 
than  to  be  left  alone  with  her  grief. 

"  In  ;he  first  place/'  he  continued,  "  take  that  money 
and  put  it  in  your  purse.  It  is  yours.  I  shall  not  touch 
it  again  under  any  circumstances." 

He  pushed  it  toward  her  with  the  hat  that  he  held  in 
his  hand,  and  she  obeyed  him  mechanically,  though  with 
evident  reluctance. 

"  Now,  won't  you  tell  me  your  name?" 

"Why  do  you  want  it?" 

"  Because  I  feel  that  we  ought  not  to  end  our  ac- 
quaintance here.  Because  I  believe  that,  when  you  have 
thought  a  little  longer,  you  will  say  I  may  come  again." 

"  But,"  she  exclaimed,,  turning  red,  "  you  can  have 
only  one  object.  A  man  does  not  seek  the  company  of  a 
poor  girl  like  me  unless — " 

She  was  unable  to  proceed. 

"And  you  won't  even  tell  me  what  name  they  call 
you?"  he  asked,  with  his  most  winning  smile. 

"  You  could  find  that  by  asking  below,"  she  replied, 
as  if  in  thought.  "  It  is  Mrs.  Taylor." 

"  That  is  better,"  he  said,  affably.  "  But,  are  you 
married,  then?" 


170  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

Thinking  that  the  money  she  had  accepted  entitled 
the  giver  at  least  to  courtesy,  the  young  woman  an- 
swered: 

"  I  lost  my  husband  several  months  ago." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon/'  he  said.  "  I  am  sorry  to  arouse 
unpleasant  memories.  Is  there  anything  else  you  would 
like  to  tell  me?" 

"  You  have  been  so  kind,"  she  faltered,  "  that  I  don't 
know  how  to  thank  you.  I  was,  as  you  surmised, 
brought  up  in  a  different  station  from  the  one  in  which 
you  see  me.  Last  summer  circumstances  compelled  me 
for  the  first  time  to  seek  my  own  livelihood.  I  have 
made  a  sorry  mess  of  it.  The  only  thing  I  could  find 
^as  sewing,  and  the  rates  paid  are  so  low  that  even  this 
room  and  the  most  meagre  food  cannot  be  earned  by  the 
longest  hours.  I  had  a  little  money,  and  it  is  gone.  But 
for  your  gift,  to-morrow  would  have  seen  me  shelter- 
less." 

"  You  have  no  relations  or  friends  to  whom  you  can 
appeal?" 

"  None  nearer  than  England;  and  they  have  already 
responded  that  there  is  nothing  to  be  expected  from 
them.  They  are  nearly  as  poor  as  I." 

The  pathos  of  the  story  made  its  impression  upon 
him.  Certainly  at  that  moment  he  had  no  intention  of 
wronging  this  unhappy  creature.  All  that  was  senti- 
mental in  his  nature  cried  out  for  her. 

"  You  spoke  a  little  while  ago  of  a  'last  resort/  "  he 
caid.  "  What  did  you  mean  by  that?" 

"  Death!" 

"That  is  dreadful,  for  one  so  young  to  contemplate." 

"  I  can  die,  but  not  dishonor  myself! "  said  she. 
"I  have  no  wish  to  die,  though  life  has  lost  every 
charm  for  me.  I  am  willing  to  work,  as  long  as  my 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND.  171 

strength  lasts,  at  any  employment,  no  matter  how  disa- 
greeable. The  person  who  would  secure  me  but  that  op- 
portunity I  should  call  friend,  indeed." 

"The  best  thing  for  you,"  said  Hayne,  "is  to  let  me  be 
what  my  impulse  proposed  from  the  first,  your  banker 
and  adviser." 

She  looked  at  him  searehingly. 

"  It  is  not  possible,"  she  said,  "  that  there  is  a  man  in 
the  world  who  would  render  such  a  service  without  hope 
of  reward.  You — you  are  not  a  clergyman?" 

He  shook  his  head,  with  another  smile. 

"  Simply  a  rich  young  idler,  who  has  taken  a  fancy 
to  aid  you.  Think  it  over,  Mrs.  Taylor.  I  don't  like 
that  formal  title.  Your  Christian  name  would  suit  me 
better — Elizabeth,  Anna,  Katharine — " 

"  Margaret." 

"  Think  it  over,  Margaret.  It  is  not  much  for  me  to 
offer.  I  would  like  to  have  you  move  to  a  rather  better 
house — I'm  not  in  love  with  your  landlord.  But  don't 
agree  to  anything  now.  Only  say  that  I  may  come  to- 
morrow, or  the  next  day.  You'll  feel  better  acquainted 
when  you've  seen  me  the  second  time." 

What  was  she  to  do?  She  said  he  might  come — that 
she  would  be  very  glad  to  have  him  come.  It  seemed 
like  a  dream  that  such  a  gentleman  should  have  taken 
an  interest  in  her,  based  on  anything  but  the  craving  of 
a  sexual  nature.  Her  purse,  except  for  his  present,  was 
empty.  She  could  not  refuse  a  helping  hand  held  out 
in  such  a  manner. 

"  Good-bye,  Margaret,"  he  said,  rising. 

"  Good-bye.    I  do  not  know  what  to  call  you  yet." 

He  did  not  mean  to  give  her  his  right  name  so 
soon. 

"You  may  call  me  Kenneth  Kane,"  he  said  and  left 
her. 


172  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 


CHAPTER 

THE  ANGEL  OF  DEATH. 

At  the  end  of  their  week  in  the  White  Mountains,  Mr. 
Mrs,  Kingdon  Dale  returned  to  Boston.  Kingdon 
explained  to  his  friends  that  clutieg  at  the  office  made  it 
impossible  to  stay  longer,  They  "  settled  down  "  in  the 
apartments  that  had  been  engaged,  and,  as  fa?  as  the 
world  could  see,  were  like  any  other  young  married 
couple,  except,  perhaps,  a  little  more  sensible  in  showing 
their  affection  before  outside  parties. 

The  very  first  thing  the  young  husband  did,  even  be- 
fore going  to  visit  hip  father,  was  to  see  a  detective  and 
put  him  in  possession  of  Margaret  Rivera'  description. 
He  had  given  up  the  dearest  hope  of  his  life — that  of 
calling  the  English  girl  his  bride— but  the  duty  of  see- 
ing to  her  comfort  and  securing  her  a  means  of  liveli- 
hood was  still  his.  A  dreadful  mischance  had  prevented 
his  finding  her  a  few  days  sooner,  in  which  case  the  cur- 
rent of  three  lives  might  have  been  changed. 

He  could  not  help  believing  that  if  he  had  met  Mar- 
garet after  she  had  tried  the  hard  task  of  supporting 
herself,  that  the  difference  in  the  career  he  could  have 
offered  would  have  overcome  her  scruples.  But  the 
evil  was  done.  He  was  wedded  to  a  woman,  toward 
whom  his  attitude  could  never  be  more  than  that  of  a 
very  distant  friend,  and  Margaret  was  to  face  her  fate, 
with  or  without  his  aid,  as  time  might  decide. 

His  reception  at  home,  when  he  reached  Newton,  waa 
most  cordial.  He  had  Ida  with  him,  and  his  father  lav 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  173 

ished  his  warmest  caresses  on  both.  Mrs.  Bruce  was 
sent  for,  and  accepted  an  invitation  to  dinner,  as  it  Waa 
easier  for  Edward  Dale  to  receive  his  friends  than  to  go 
abroad.  There  was  all  the  necessary  dissembling,  and 
the  meal  passed  without  special  event.  When  it  was 
over,  the  guests  divided  into  two  parties,  and  each 
parent  was  alone  with  his  child. 

'•'Well,  Ida?"  was  the  anxious  inquiry  of  Mrs.  Brucej 
as  the  door  between  them  and  the  hall  swung  as  if  by 
accident,  so  as  to  partially  close  the  portal.  "  Have  you 
had  a  happy  honeymoon  thus  far?" 

The  bride  flushed. 

"I  am  not  going  to  answer  any  questions,  mother," 
she  said,  pleasantly,  "  and  you  need  ask  me  none." 

This  attitude  was  so  different  from  any  she  had  ever 
shown  before  that  the  widow  Could  not  help  expressing 
in  her  countenance  the  surprise  she  felt.  She  looked  at 
her  daughter  searchingly,  to  see  if  any  answer  might  be 
found  in  her  face,  but  tkere  was  nothing  to  satisfy  her, 

"  Let  Us  talk  of  you,  and  what  you  have  done  with- 
out me,"  added  Ida.  "How  have  you  borne  the  first 
long  separation  we  have  ever  had?" 

"But,  Ida,  you  should  tell  me  at  least  this:  Has  he 
been  kind  to  you?" 

"  He  certainly  has.  Now,  please  drop  the  Subject  and 
do  not  refer  to  it  again.  If  there  was  anything  very 
wrong  I  should  surely  tell  you;  but  I  am  now  a  married 
woman,  and  cannot  discuss  my  husband  with  any  per- 
son— not  even  with  the  dearest  and  best  mother  in  the 
world." 

Coupled  with  the  softest  and  gentlest  of  tones  there 
was  the  most  perfect  determination.  The  widow  felt, 
with  a  twinge  of  pain,  that  the  child  she  had  parted 
from  a  week  before  would  never  coine  back  to  her.  With 


174:  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

I 

the  judgment  which  years  had  taught  her  she  refrained, 
however,  from  pursuing  the  line  she  had  begun,  and  led 
the  conversation  into  the  details  of  the  journey  to  New 
Hampshire. 

The  married  couple  had  ascended  Mount  Washington, 
passed  a  night  there,  ridden  to  the  Glen  House,  after- 
ward visiting  the  Flume  and  the  other  prominent  fea- 
of  the  mountains.  Between  the  lines  of  this  recital  the 
mother  sought  in  vain  to  gather  something  that  would 
answer  the  query  uppermost  in  her  mind. 

Ida  had  learned  discretion  and  reticence,  if  nothing 
more,  during  the  first  week  of  her  wedded  life. 

In  the  library,  on  the  other  side  of  the  hall,  a  door  had 
also  swung  on  its  hinges,  pushed  by  the  cane  of  a» 
elderly  gentleman  in  an  armchair. 

"  You  rascal!"  he  exclaimed,  jocosely,  "  are  you  satis- 
fied  now  that  I  did  you  a  service  by  driving  your  no- 
marriage  nonsense  out  of  your  head?  I  thought  a  week 
with  that  adorable  creature  would  change  your  mind. 
You  are  the  happiest  and  the  best-looking  couple  in 
Massachusetts  to-day." 

Kingdon  had  schooled  himself  to  expect  some  such 
remark,  and  he  smiled  into  his  father's  face,  though  a 
cold  shudder  came  to  his  heart. 

"  How  has  your  health  been?"  he  asked.  "  I  did  not 
expect  you  would  write  anything  to  worry  me,  whatever 
way  you  felt." 

"  Splendid,"  was  the  reply.  "  I  haven't  been  so  well 
for  years.  One  of  my  chief  troubles  has  been  my  worry 
about  you;  yes,  in  spite  of  my  faith  that  you  would  come 
out  all  right,  I  fretted  a  great  deal  till  it  was  over.  There 
is  only  one  thing  now  to  wholly  relieve  my  mind,  and 
that  is  the  money  I  shall  have  to  ask  of  Mrs.  Bruce. 
StiD,  I  need  but  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  a  baga- 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  175 

telle  to  her.  Why,  Bruce  was  said  to  be  worth  six  hun- 
dred thousand  when  he  died,  and  they  can't  have  used 
half  the  income  for  the  past  fifteen  years." 

Kingdon  bowed.  He  felt  few  compunctions  of  con- 
science or  of  pride  that  his  father  should  have  to  ask 
the  mother  of  his  wife  for  pecuniary  aid.  They  had 
been  bound  to  bring  about  the  marriage — let  them  set- 
tle these  things  to  suit  themselves.  He  was  getting 
hardened. 

"  Did  you  notice,"  chuckled  Mr.  Dale,  Sr.,  "  how  they 
withdrew  to  the  parlor  as  soon  as  they  could  safely  do 
so.  Women  are  daft  on  secrets.  And  you  actually  came 
near  losing  that  prettiest  of  her  sex!  You  would  never 
have  forgiven  yourself  if  you  had  seen  her  married  to 
another  man.  There's  one,  too,  who  would  have  given 
everything  he  possesses  to  have  owned  her.  He  came 
out  here  after  you  went  away,  and  he  looked  like  a 
ghost." 

The  surprise  on  the  son's  face  asked  the  question  his 
lips  did  not  utter. 

"You  never  saw  it — never  dreamed  of  it?  No,  I'll 
wager  not,"  said  the  father,  with  another  chuckle  at  his 
own  shre\\  dness.  "  Why,  Gordon  Hayne  has  been  madly 
in  love  with  Ida  for  ever  so  long.  Now,  don't  get  ex- 
cited!" he  added,  as  the  son  gave  an  unmistakable  start; 
"  he's  never  said  a  word  nor  given  a  hint  to  her,  know- 
ing that  she  was  picked  out  for  you.  But  he  couldn't 
hide  his  sentiment  from  an  old  sharper  like  me.  I've 
seen  him  in  her  drawing-room,  when  the  house  was  full 
of  people,  talking  to  everybody  else,  keeping  as  far  away 
as  he  could,  and  yet  hardly  taking  his  eyes  from  her. 
At  the  wedding  he  was  as  white  as  a  sheet,  the  honest, 
loyal  fellow!  She  was  destined  for  you,  that  was  enough 


176  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

for  him.  He'd  have  dropped  dead  before  he'd  have 
spoken.  Lordl" 

The  closing  expression  conveyed  to  Kingdon  the 
depth  of  Mr.  Hayne's  honest  passion  more  fully  than  the 
most  elaborate  sentence  could  have  done. 

"I  wish  to  God  he  had  not  been  so  particular!"  he 
cried,  in  his  soul.  "He  little  thinks  what  a  favor  he 
would  have  done  me  if  he  had  paid  no  attention  to  my 
'  rights '  and  pressed  his  suit  to  a  favorable  conclusion." 

But  this  is  not  what  he  said  to  his  father. 

"  I  never  noticed  any  of  these  things,"  he  remarked, 
and  it  was  evident  their  interest  had  ceased  for  him.  "  I 
did  not  think  Gordon  a  man  who  would  ever  marry." 

"  He  never  will,  now,"  said  the  father.  "  He's  had  a 
atab  under  the  fifth  rib." 

At  an  early  hour  the  young  couple  took  a  train  for 
the  city,  with  affectionate  farewells  from  their  elders. 
Mrs.  Bruce  tried  to  read  in  the  eyes  of  her  son-in-law 
what  she  could  not  learn  from  her  daughter,  but  the 
page  was  equally  blank. 

"  What  time  shall  I  expect  you  to-morrow?"  asked 
Ida,  composedly,  as  she  received  the  maternal  kiss  of 
parting. 

"  About  twelve.  I  shall  only  stay  to  lunch,  as  I  have 
friends  to  dinner." 

At  noon  Kingdon  would  be  away.  He  did  not  lunch 
at  home. 

"  You're  not  going  without  kissing  me,  too,  are  you?" 
said  Edward  Dale.  "  You  are  my  daughter,  now,  you 
know." 

Ida  flashed  a  look  of  inquiry  at  her  husband,  who 
nodded  impatiently.  What  was  the  sense  in  bothering? 
She  might  kiss  every  man  in  Newton  for  all  he  cared. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  177 

In  the  train  they  said  little  to  each  other,  but  hefore 
they  retired  she  had  a  talk  with  him. 

"  You  were  very  nice  to  mamma.  I  want  to  thank 
you." 

"  Your  mother  has  always  been  very  nice  to  me,"  he 
replied,  coolly. 

There  was  a  pause  of  some  seconds. 

"  Sho  wanted  to  know — mamma  did — about — 
whether  everything  was  all  right  between  us." 

"  And  you  told  her,  of  course!"  he  snapped. 

"  No.  That  is  what  I  want  to  say.  I  said  I  never 
should  discuss  my  husband  with  anybody,  not  even  her. 
I  felt  sure  that  you  would  adopt  the  same  course  toward 
me — that  you  would  not  tell  any  one  there  was  the  least 
division." 

He  was  somewhat  mollified  by  her  statement,  and  by 
the  manner  in  which  it  was  made,  but  he  had  too  many 
weights  upon  his  heart  to  act  very  cheerfully. 

"  I  shall  do  my  best  to  conceal  everything,"  he  said. 
*'  And  I  think  you  have  acted  wisely.  Your  mother  is 
a  shrewd  woman,  however,  and  you  will  have  to  be  al- 
ways on  guard." 

Ida  seemed  to  accept  the  situation.  He  was  pleased 
at  her  attitude,  for  he  had  nothing  but  the  best  of 
wishes  for  her,  and  he  knew  her  position  would  not  be  a 
happy  one.  They  had  got  to  live  under  the  same  roof, 
and  meet  many  acquaintances,  with  the  beet  face  they 
could.  He  did  not  want  his  affairs  the  theme  of  public 
gossip,  if  it  could  he  helped. 

Only  two  days  passed  before  Edward  Dale  addressed  a 
letter  to  Mrs.  Walden  Bruce.  In  it  he  stated  the  ex- 
treme reluctance  with  which  he  unveiled  to  her  a  con- 
dition of  his  affairs  which  he  had  succeeded,  by  the 
strongest  efforts,  from  revealing  to  the  world  in  gen- 


178  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

oral.  The  comfortable  fortune  which  he  had  at  one  tim« 
possessed  had  been  lost,  with  the  exception  of  the  house 
in  which  he  lived,  by  unfortunate  investments.  Even 
the  homestead  was  pledged,  though  the  writings  were 
not  recorded,  for  more  than  half  it  was  worth.  These 
troubles  had  come  coincidental  with  loss  of  health  and 
bodily  strength,  and  it  was  idle  to  think  of  remedying 
them  by  any  action  of  his. 

"  As  you  and  I,"  he  added,  "  have  but  one  child  each, 
now  united  in  wedlock,  and  as  the  undoubted  future  of 
our  lands  should  keep  them  in  one  property,  I  make  this 
proposition:  I  will  deed  my  estate  to  Kingdon  and  Ida, 
jointly,  if  you  will  advance  the  sum  necessary  to  relieve 
it  from  debt.  I  have  not  much  longer  to  live,  and  my 
wants  will  be  few.  My  son  is  in  business  which  cannot 
fail  to  give  him  a  livelihood  and  enable  him  to  care  for 
me  the  little  time  I  shall  remain  on  earth." 

It  was  in  the  middle  of  the  morning  that  this  note 
was  sent  to  Mrs.  Bruce's  residence,  and  it  was  less  than 
half  an  hour  later  that  the  lady  came  to  Mr.  Dale's,  in  a 
state  of  high  excitement,  and  asked  to  see  him  alone. 

"  What  does  this  letter  mean?"  she  cried,  as  if  dis- 
tracted. "  It  cannot — I  am  sure  it  cannot  be  anything 
but  a  joke — a  witticism  of  yours  to  try  me!" 

"  I  wish  heartily  that  it  was  not,"  answered  Mr.  Dale, 
sadly.  "  But,  alas!  there  is  no  hope  for  it." 

The  lady  staggered  to  a  chair,  and,  falling  into  it,  cov- 
ered her  face  with  her  hands  and  sobbed  hysterically. 
Never  having  seen  her  except  in  the  happiest  moods, 
Mr.  Dale  was  intensely  shocked  at  this  exhibition. 

"  My  dear  lady,"  he  said,  "  calm  yourself.  How  can 
there  be  anything  in  my  proposal  to  cause  this  outburst? 
True,  I  might  have  told  you  of  my  pecuniary  condition 
before  my  son's  maxriage,  but  I  had  no  reason  to  sup* 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  17£ 

pose  it  would  make  the  slightest  difference  with  you. 
We  have  been  friends  so  long — I  knew  that  you  and  Ida 
were  rich- -and — " 

Mrs.  Bruce  struggled  to  speak  several  times  before 
she  could  make  herself  heard. 

"  Knew  we  were  rich?"  she  ejaculated,  at  last.  "  Why, 
we  are  beggars!  Every  dollar  my  husband  left  has  van- 
ished. One  investment  after  another  has  proved  bad. 
My  estate,  like  yours,  is  involved,  and  I  intended  to  ask 
your  aid  before  another  week  had  passed.  Poor  Ida!" 
she  cried,  with  sobs.  "  She  has  sacrificed  herself  for 
nothing!" 

The  invalid  sat  up  in  his  chair  and  eyed  her  stupidly. 

"  Your  property — all  gone,  too!"  he  repeated.  "  Your 
fortune  of  over  half  a  million!  And  Ida — sacrificed  her- 
self? Explain." 

The  woman  tried  to  regain  her  composure,  for  it  was 
evident  that  this  man's  sufferings  were  as  acute  as  her 
own. 

"  It  is  gone,  I  tell  you!"  she  said.  "  We  hardly  own 
the  furniture,  and  a  loan  secures  the  place  we  live  in. 
Ida  never  liked  the  thought  of  marrying  your  son.  She 
leaned  toward  another  match,  a  young  man  who  wor- 
shiped her,  and  who  has  an  undoubted  fortune  in  his 
own  right;  but  I,  in  a  silly  desire  to  join  these  estates, 
and  believing  you  the  rich  man  you  were  reputed,  held 
her  to  my  will.  I  have  wrecked  her  life  and  my  own!  It 
is  a  judgment  on  me!" 

The  invalid  leaned  toward  her  and  drank  in  the 
words,  feverishly. 

"  The  young  man  you  refer  to  is  Gordon  Hayne,"  he 
said. 

"  Yes,  with  more  than  a  million  to  his  credit,  good 
family,  intelligence,  everything.  And  my  miserable 


180  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

child  has  married  your  son,  in  the  face  of  his  assertion 
that  he  will  never  be  a  husband  to  her;  that  all  she  shall 
ever  have  will  be  his  name!  Is  it  not  enough  to  drive 
one  mad?  How  can  I  meet  her  and  confess  my  fearful 
error ?" 

Afraid  that  she  would  go  into  a  fit  of  hysteria,  Mr. 
Dale  suggested  in  a  low  voice  that  his  visitor  should  be 
conducted  back  to  her  residence  by  one  of  his  servants, 
and  postpone  the  rest  of  the  conversation  to  another  day. 
She  accepted  the  idea,  and  the  housekeeper,  being  sum- 
moned, escorted  her  from  the  house. 

Edward  Dale  sank  back  in  his  armchair.  So  this  was 
the  end  of  the  kindness  he  had  tried  to  do  Kingdon. 
Married  to  a  girl  he  did  not  like,  with  that  awful  ante- 
nuptial agreement!  Married,  with  a  bankrupt  father 
and  a  bankrupt  wife;  with  only  the  meagre  income  of  a 
sub-partnership;  all  his  bright  prospects  gone. 

How  could  the  father  face  the  son?  How  could  he 
"bear  to  look  into  the  countenance  of  that  beautiful  girl 
whose  lips  he  had  kissed  two  days  ago?  How  could  he 
hold  up  his  feeble  head  when  the  sheriff  came  to  oust 
him  from  the  home  where  he  had  lived  for  thirty  years 
— to  hear  the  laugh  of  the  thoughtless  crowd  at  one  who 
had  made  a  failure  of  life  after  more  than  half  a  century 
of  struggle? 

His  dear  boy,  Kingdon!  He  recalled  the  little  fellow 
in  his  cradle,  the  child  coming  home  from  school,  the 
young  man  whose  future  he  had  deemed  secure. 

Who  would  have  guessed  that  the  handsome  fortune 
of  Walden  Bruce  had  succumbed  to  the  sea  worms  that 
gnaw  without  being  perceived  until  the  crash  comes? 

Existence  had  been  too  great  a  burden  to  the  sick  man 
before  this;  now  it  could  be  borne  no  longer. 

He  knew  where,  in  a  cupboard,  was  a  little  phial  from 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  181 

which  he  was  wont  to  take  carefully,  by  the  doctor's  or- 
ders, a  few  measured  drops  when  all  other  methods  fail 
to  induce  sleep. 

He  took  his  stout  cane  in  his  hand  and  tottered'to  the 
closet.  He  reached  for  the  bottle,  and,  securing  it  in 
his  shaking  fingers,  returned  to  his  armchair. 

But  ere  he  could  poiir  out  the  deadly  fluid,  the  Dealli 
Angel  anticipated  his  act.  A  pain  seized  him  in  the 
left  side,  that  made  him  drop  the  poison  and  cry  out. 

A  servant  who  ran  in,  attracted  by  the  cry,  saw  that 
consciousness  had  fled. 

The  physician,  summoned  immediately,  said  that  a 
clot  of  blood  had  coagulated  in  the  brain,  and  that  the 
life  of  Edward  Dale  was  ended. 


182  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BON-D. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

WATCHING  FOR  HIS  PREY. 

The  death  of  his  father  seemed  to  Kingdon  the  last 
drop  in  his  cup  of  misery.  "Within  three  weeks  he  had 
been  left  an  orphan,  married  a  woman  whom  he  could 
never  learn  to  love,  and  discovered  that  the  only  girl 
who  had  ever  touched  his  heart  was  not  only  living,  but 
had  been  within  a  few  miles  of  him  when  he  gave  her 
up  for  lost.  The  financial  crisis,  precipitated  by  Mr. 
Dale's  death,  did  not  add  to  the  pleasure  of  the  general 
situation.  It  was  plain  that  the  home  in  which  he  was 
born  would  soon  belong  to  others,  and  that  of  his 
father's  estate  but  a  very  little,  if  anything,  would  re- 
main from  the  creditors. 

Mrs.  Bruce  was  taken  violently  ill.  When  he  went  to 
visit  her  she  could  only  talk  of  her  troubles  and  of  ths 
error  she  had  committed  in  consigning  her  child  to  the 
care  of  a  penniless  husband.  He  learned  the  condition 
of  her  affairs,  which  were  now  little  better  than  his  own. 
Somehow  he  was  not  moved  by  her  recital.  His  wrongs, 
as  he  viewed  the  matter,  were  too  great  to  admit  of  much 
sympathy  for  those  who  had  caused  them. 

He  attended  strictly  to  the  business  of  his  firm,  and 
was  gaining  gradually  a  place  in  the  world  of  trade  that 
would  be  recognized.  The  hope  that  he  would  be  able, 
with  additional  capital,  to  buy  a  larger  share  in  the  spice 
concern  died  out.  He  had  nothing  but  his  hands  and 
brain.  These  he  must  use  to  the  best  of  his  ability. 

The  detective  who  had  been  engaged  to  search  for 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  188 

Kiss  Elvers  reported  at  the  end  of  ten  days  that  he  could 
not  find  the  faintest  trace  of  her.  Not  feeling  justified 
in  spending  money  on  what  seemed  a  useless  quest, 
Kingdon  paid  the  man  and  let  him  go.  He  could  not 
help,  however,  walking  the  street  at  all  sorts  of  late 
hours,  watching  in  the  crowds  for  the  missing  face.  He 
also  inserted  a  notice  in  the  Boston  Herald,  thinking 
that  it  might  possibly  reach  her  eye.  But  the  heavy 
weeks  passed,  and  nothing  developed. 

It  was  a  dull  life  he  lived  as  a  married  man.  It  was 
necessary  to  go  to  certain  places  with  Ida,  to  avoid  talk, 
and  he  performed  such  duties  with  the  best  grace  possi- 
ble. Most  of  the  day  was  passed  at  business.  He  ate 
dinner  with  her,  and  stayed  perhaps  an  hour  after  it,  be- 
fore he  went  out  for  his  stroll.  She  had  developed  ad- 
mirable qualities  of  judgment.  Not  only  was  there  no 
collision  between  them,  but  there  appeared  no  danger 
of  any.  He  grew  to  feel  at  his  ease  in  his  wife's  pres- 
ence. A  third  person  could  sit  at  their  table  and  not 
suspect  that  he  saw  the  greatest  endearments  that  ever 
passed  between  them. 

As  the  time  approached  when  Mrs.  Bruce's  affairs 
must  be  made  public  that  lady  made  superhuman  ef- 
forts to  save  her  home  and  name.  She  went  from  one 
money  lender  to  another,  using  her  most  persuasive  ef- 
forts to  obtain  help;  but  everywhere  the  smiles  which 
were  evoked  by  her  charming  manner  faded  before  the 
cold,  plain  statement  of  the  value  of  her  property  and 
the  amount  of  her  indebtedness.  At  last,  when  all  else 
failed,  she  bethought  herself  of  a  wealthy  friend  of 
whom  it  was  strange  she  had  not  thought  before — Mr. 
Gordon  Hayne. 

Gordon  was  not  in  the  money-lending  business,  but  he 
had  abundant  means  and  was  certainly  able  to  assist  the 


184  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

widow  if  he  wished.  She  caught  him  at  her  own  house 
one  day,  when  he  had  come  for  a  call,  and  told  him  her 
entire  story. 

"  So  you  see  both  my  estate  and  that  of  the  Dales/' 
she  said,  in  conclusion,  "  are  liable  to  go  to  the  money 
sharks  for  what  is  hardly  half  their  value."  (It  will  gen- 
erally be  noted  that  people  refer  to  those  who  have 
loaned  them  money  as  "sharks.")  "Everybody  con- 
cedes that  land  hereabouts  will  be  very  valuable  in  a  few 
years.  Look  at  the  Back  Bay  district.  Land  sells  there 
for  twelve  dollars  a  square  foot,  that  was  worth  but  forty 
cents  a  few  years  ago.  There  is  talk  of  running  a  great 
boulevard  through  Brookline  and  the  entire  length  of 
Newton.  It  will  almost  certainly  pass  through  these 
properties,  and  that  means  a  fortune  to  the  owners. 
What  a  pity  to  sacrifice  all  that  remains  to  this  young 
couple  when  if  it  could  be  kept  for  a  short  time  it  might 
make  them  rich!" 

Mr.  Hayne  admitted  the  correctness  of  the  lady's  di- 
agnosis, and  asked  what  assistance  he  could  be  in  the 
ease. 

"  Why,  I  thought — when  the  investment  is  so  safe/' 
she  replied,  "  that  you  might  lend  a  sufficient  sum  on 
the  combined  estates  to  free  them,  and  perhaps  allow  a 
little  over  for  my  own  small  wants.  You  would,  of 
course,  have  ample  security,  and  there  is  no  possibility 
that  you  would  lose  anything." 

All  men  with  money  have  their  favorite  investments, 
and  real  estate  mortgages  in  the  suburbs  was  not  one 
of  Mr.  Hayne's. 

"  I  will  think  about  this,  Mrs.  Bruce,"  he  said,  doubt- 
fully. "  But  in  the  meantime  make  inquiries  elsewhere. 
Excuse  me,  but  a  proposition  of  this  sort  is  a  business 
matter,  and  must  be  considered  from  that  standpoint. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  185 

There  is  some  $35,000  on  both  properties,  I  think  you 
said." 

"  Yes,"  she  nodded. 

"  Twenty  thousand  of  it  being  on  yours  alone?" 

She  again  assented. 

"  I  shall  have  to  talk  with  Kingdon,  of  course,"  he 
said. 

Instead  of  talking  with  Kingdon  at  once,  however,  he 
went  to  call  on  his  pretty  wife  during  a  part  of  the  day 
when  he  knew  the  husband  would  be  absent.  It  was  not 
the  first  call  that  Gordon  had  made,  and  Ida  thought 
nothing  strange  about  it.  She  always  mentioned  it  to 
Kingdon  when  he  came  home,  and  he  only  nodded,  as  if 
it  did  not  interest  him  much. 

Gordon's  evenings  were  naturally  taken  up  a  good 
deal,  while  his  mornings  wore  heavily.  He  called  in 
sometimes  at  the  spice  warehouse  and  took  Kingdon  out 
to  lunch  with  him.  Gordon  was  a  good  fellow.  He 
had  wanted  to  marry  Ida,  and  had  lost  her.  If  it  was 
any  pleasure  to  him  to  call  and  see  her,  Mr.  Dale  did  not 
know  why  any  one  should  object. 

Ida  liked  him;  she  always  had  liked  him.  It  was  a  de- 
light to  hear  his  name  mentioned  by  the  one  maid  that 
she  kept  and  to  see  his  face  in  her  little  flat.  He  still 
wore  the  air  of  a  man  who  has  loved  and  lost,  but  he 
bore  his  injuries  with  the  grace  of  one  who  would  die 
sooner  than  utter  a  complaint. 

He  had  no  reason  to  suspect  the  extent  of  the 
estrangement  between  his  married  friends.  Presuming 
that  they  were  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  natural  felicity, 
he  would  not  have  considered  it  the  proper  time,  even 
were  his  intentions  of  breaking  into  the  fold  ever  so  pro- 
nounced, to  commence  the  task.  The  practiced  roue 
knows  enough  to  wait  until  the  quarrels  begin,  till  he 


186  THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND. 

finds  the  object  of  his  hope  with  reddened  eyes;  till,  to 
his  query  about  her  husband's  state  of  health,  she  an- 
swers, "I — don't  know — and 1  don't — care!" 

It  was  one  of  the  great  points  of  Gordon  Hayne's  suc- 
cess with  women  that  he  could  play  a  waiting  game. 
He  was  among  men  what  Russia  is  among  nations. 

For  at  least  three  years  he  had  made  up  his  mind  that 
the  day  should  come  when  he  would  possess  Ida  Bruce. 
Being  cautious,  fearful  of  danger,  he  had  decided  early 
that  he  would  wait  till  after  her  marriage.  He  had 
never  felt  such  an  attraction  toward  a  human  being. 
The  other  amours  that  had  occupied  his  time  were  only 
flitting  fancies.  This  was  the  one  grande  passion  of  his 
entire  life. 

As  has  been  said,  he  repented,  when  he  saw  her  in 
bridal  garments,  that  he  had  not  broken  his  resolution 
to  live  and  die  unmarried.  He  ought  to  have  taken  this 
lovely  creature  to  his  own  arms,  and  treasured  her  safe 
from  all  the  world  rather  than  give  her  for  ever  so  short 
a  time  to  another.  He  had  a  twinge  now,  like  the  lover 
Ovid  writes  of,  to  think  he  had  permitted  her  to  marry. 

But  so  well  did  he  carry  himself,  in  the  presence  of 
both  of  them,  that  neither  dreamed  of  the  project  hid- 
den in  his  breast.  Mr.  Dale  knew  that  Gordon's  repu- 
tation in  regard  to  women  was  somewhat  shady,  and  yet 
he  was  received  in  the  best  houses,  while  nobody  seemed 
able  to  swear  to  anything  against  him.  Mrs.  Dale  knew 
even  less  than  this,  for  the  seamy  side  of  life  was  to  her 
little  more  than  a  vague  mist.  That  there  were  men 
whose  chief  aim  in  life  is  to  ruin  pure  women  she  had 
not  even  heard. 

On  the  day  after  his  talk  with  Mrs.  Bruce,  Mr.  Hayne 
called  on  Ida  Dale.  In  the  course  of  his  conversation 
he  alluded  to  what  Mrs.  Bruce  had  told  him. 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND.  187 

"  I  don't  suppose  your  respected  mother  realizes  how 
much  she  asks  me  to  do,"  he  said,  with  a  pretense  of 
candor.  "  Those  properties  may,  as  she  says,  grow  val- 
uable some  time  in  the  future,  but  unoccupied  land  eata 
itself  up  with  interest  and  taxes.  It's  all  right  for  a 
family  that  wants  a  country  place  to  buy  one  and  get 
enough  satisfaction  out  of  residing  there  to  pay  for  the 
carrying  charges;  but  as  an  investment,  it's  quite  another 
matter." 

Ida  nodded,  as  if  she  saw  the  point,  but  he  read  in 
her  face  that  she  was  thinking  of  her  mother's  sorrow. 

"  If  it  was  still  your  home,  that  would  be  a  different 
thing,"  he  mused.  "  I  wouldn't  let  them  take  the  roof 
from  over  your  head.  But  you  are  married" — he 
gulped  down  something  in  his  throat — "  and  will  prob- 
ably not  live  there  again." 

"  As  you  are  so  kind,"  she  interposed,  quickly,  "  let 
me  say  that  it  is  my  mother's  home,  and  that  it  will 
break  her  heart  if  she  has  to  leave  it.  But  I  don't  want 
to  influence  you.  I  know  nothing  about  money  matters. 
I  supposed  there  would  always  be  more  than  enough, 
and  I  don't  understand  now  what  became  of  it  all." 

A  torrent  began  to  seethe  within  him. 

"  Ida,"  he  said — it  was  nothing  unusual  for  him  to 
call  her  by  her  Christian  name — "  do  you  ask  me  to  save 
that  home  for  your  mother?' 

"  I  cannot  ask  you,"  she  stammered,  turning  rosy.  "  I 
have  no  right.  If  you  can  do  it  without  loss — " 

He  watched  her  narrowly. 

"  It  makes  little  difference  whether  I  lose  or  not,"  he 
murmured,  as  if  to  himself.  "  I  am  responsible  to  no 
one.  I  never  shall  marry — now." 

Poor  fellow!    How  lie  had  loved  her!    And  but  for  a 


188  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

cruel  combination  of  circumstances  she  might  at  this 
moment  have  been  his  proud  wife,  rich  and  happy. 

"I  am  going  to  try  to  save  that  home  for  your 
mother,"  he  said,  after  a  pause.  "  I  won't  undertake  to 
count  Kingdon's  in,  too;  but  your  mother's  I  will  cer- 
tainly look  into." 

She  rose  and  came  to  his  chair,  putting  both  her 
hands  in  his  like  a  child. 

"I  shall  owe  you  an  eternity  of  gratitude!"  she  ex- 
claimed, her  eyes  beaming.  "How  can  I  ever  repay 
you?" 

"The  time  will  come,"  he  answered,  eyeing  the  carpet, 
as  if  he  feared  to  meet  her  gaze.  "  I  am  sure  the  time 
will  come  when  I  shall  need  all  your  kindness  and  con- 
sideration." 

She  had  not  the  least  idea  what  he  could  mean,  but 
she  answered  that  if  that  time  ever  came  he  would  have 
it  fully. 

"  I  don't  say  this  merely  because  of  your  generous 
conduct  in  this  matter,"  she  added,  "  but  you  seem  to 
me  more  than  an  ordinary  friend,  more  like  what  I  sup- 
pose a  brother  would  be,  if  I  had  had  one." 

It  was  difficult  to  conceal  the  exultation  that  filled  his 
heart.  He  would  have  loaned  the  value  of  a  dozen  es- 
tates like  her  mother's  just  to  hear  those  words. 

Upon  investigating  the  subject,  through  a  broker  in 
whom  he  had  implicit  confidence,  Gordon  found,  to  his 
delight,  that  the  investment  he  had  been  asked  to  make 
was  not  a  bad  one  by  any  means.  The  security  was  well 
nigh  perfect,  and  the  chance  of  appreciation  in  value 
xvas  considered  more  than  an  offset  to  any  present  risk. 
The  broker  suggested  of  his  own  accord  that  a  lien  on 
one  of  the  adjoining  estates  would  be  a  good  thing  to 
secure,  as,  in  the  event  of  the  building  of  the  projected 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  189 

boulevard,  the  larger  the  area  covered  the  better.  So 
Mr.  Hayne  went  to  Mr.  Dale  with  a  proposition  to  carry 
out  the  idea  of  his  dead  father,  uniting  the  properties 
and  making  him  and  his  wife  the  joint  owners.  He  was 
willing  to  pay  off  all  the  indebtedness  and  give  to  Mrs. 
Bruce  $5,000  besides,  taking  a  blanket  mortgage  from 
the  new  owners. 

Kingdon  remarked,  with  a  sigh,  that  perhaps  if  his 
father  had  been  able  to  accomplish  this  result  he  might 
now  be  alive;  and  he  then  accepted  the  offer  with  thanks, 
though  it  must  be  confessed  without  enthusiasm.  He 
did  not  care  a  great  deal  now  about  pecuniary  gains. 

The  transfers  were  made  and  the  mortgage  executed, 
and  Mr.  Hayne  figured,  with  the  aid  of  his  broker,  that 
the  interest  would  probably  compel  the  proprietors  to 
surrender  the  whole  area  whenever  it  should  be  deemed 
wise  f  01  him  to  take  it. 

\VTiile  he  was  ready  at  one  moment  to  sacrifice  every- 
thing in  pursuing  his  favorite  game,  he  was  never  averse 
to  being  recouped  for  his  powder  and  shot.  In  his  na- 
ture, as  in  that  of  so  many  other  men,  lust  and  avarice 
often  went  hand  in  hand. 

Sidney  Brooks  was  agreed  upon  by  all  the  parties  in 
interest  to  attend  to  the  legal  matters.  Mrs.  Bruce 
mentioned  him,  Mr.  Hayne  seconded  the  suggestion 
warmly,  and  Mr.  Dale  saw  no  reason  why  he  should  ob- 
ject. The  sharp  answer  that  Sidney  had  made  to  King- 
don's  letter  was  not  forgotten,  but  it  was  only  fair  to 
say  that,  not  understanding  the  true  situation,  there 
was  some  excuse  for  the  tone  he  had  used.  The  worst 
of  it  was,  there  was  no  way  of  redeeming  himself  in  the 
eyes  of  the  attorney,  even  in  a  small  degree,  but  by  tell- 
ing the  whole  miserable  story. 

Brooks  came  to  the  flat  occupied  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 


190  THEIR   MARRIAGE    BOND. 

Dale  for  his  instructions.  He  was  the  same  pale,  tall, 
slender  fellow  as  of  old,  and  he  seemed  momentarily 
confused  as  he  glanced  from  one  to  the  other.  Kingdon, 
who  kept  hk  eyes  on  him  as  he  wrote,  imagined  he  could 
see  in  his  very  attitude  an  objection  to  the  scheme  he 
was  engaged  to  forward.  It  was  an  odd  conception,  for 
how  was  there  any  way  in  which  the  details  could  inter- 
est the  man  of  law  except  in  their  legal  aspect? 

"  Mr.  Dale  deeds  his  property  to  me,"  said  Mr.  Brooks, 
"and  Mrs.  Bruce  makes  the  same  disposition  of  hers.  The 
indebtedness  on  both  is  to  be  cleared  off  at  the  time. 
Then  I  encumber  the  combined  estate  with  a  mortgage 
of  $40,000  to  Mr.  Hayne,  after  which  it  is  conveyed  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dale,  jointly,  as  sole  owners/' 

Mr.  Brocks  devoted  himself  to  his  work  and  presently 
\vithdrew,  bowing  and  bidding  good-bye  to  all  present. 

On  the  day  the  transaction  was-  completed,  Mr.  Hayne 
returned  from  the  registry  of  deeds  with  Mr.  Brooks  in  a 
carriage. 

"  Well,  it's  done,"  he  remarked,  as  if  relieved.  "  I've 
had  the  satisfaction  of  doing  a  favor  to  friends,  and  at 
the  same  time  I  don't  know  as  I've  run  much  risk, 
cither.  Forty  thousand  ought  to  be  safe  on  eighty  acres 
of  land  within  seven  miles  of  the  State  House." 

"  The  security  is  all  right,"  responded  Brooks,  in  a 
deep  voice.  "  And  your  claim  is  on  the  land.  So  far 
I've  been  your  friend  and  attorney.  But,"  and  he  raised 
his  voice,  "  if  you  ever  try  to  put  your  claim  elsewhere 
than  on  the  land,  I'm  your  enemy." 

"Why,  Sidney,  are  j'ou  insane?"  was  the  startled  in- 
quiry of  his  companion. 

"  Perhaps,"  said  the  lawyer.  "  If  you  do  anything 
underhanded  in  this  matter  you'll  find  an  extraordinary 
method  in  my  madness!" 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BONEl  191 

CHAPTEE  XX. 

"  A  FEW  LITTLE  LIES." 

It  is  not  difficult  to  account  for  the  fact  that  neither 
Kingdon  Dale  nor  the  detectives  he  hired  found  any 
trace  of  Margaret  Kivers,  or  Margaret  Taylor,  as  she  now 
called  herself.  Owing  to  the  financial  assistance  which 
Gordon  Hayne  gave  her  she  was  ahle  to  take  rooms  in 
the  suburb  of  Dorchester,  where  she  remained  most  of 
the  time,  venturing  very  seldom  into  the  city.  The  in- 
telligence offices  did  not  know  her.  The  shops  where 
hundreds  of  women  are  employed  had  never  seen  her 
face.  The  agencies  for  teachers  and  governesses  had  no 
such  person  on  their  books.  The  dens  of  infamy,  which 
were  explored  thoroughly,  could  not  count  her  among 
their  unfortunate  inmates.  The  procession  of  lewd  wo- 
men who  march  eternally  up  and  down  the  avenues  had 
not  been  augmented  by  the  English  girl. 

The  condition  approaching  motherhood  in  which  she 
had  found  herself  soon  after  escaping  from  Mr.  Dale  al- 
tered the  entire  course  of  the  life  she  had  to  lead.  It 
was  idle  to  expect  a  position  in  a  family,  where  there 
were  children  to  educate,  with  this  fact  always  ready  to 
bar  her  progress.  Although  she  might  have  convinced 
a  would-be  employer  that  she  was  an  honest,  married 
woman,  he  would  not  have  cared  to  engage  a  governess 
whose  physical  situation  rendered  her  liable  to  prostra- 
tion at  any  time. 

There  remained  nothing  but  sewing — sewing  done  at 
her  home — and,  as  she  told  Mr.  Hayne,  the  remunera- 
tion for  this  was  very  slight,  indeed.  The  ladies  who 


192  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

rejoice  over  the  "bargains"  to  be  found  in  our  big 
stores  think  seldom,  it  is  probable,  of  the  meagre  wages 
that  must  have  been  paid  to  the  miserable  fingers  that 
wrought  the  articles  they  buy.  There  is  a  tragedy  in 
many  a  bit  of  lace,  in  hundreds  of  delicate  adornments 
that  are  praised  as  being  "  so  wonderfully  cheap." 

To  pay  for  the  poor  room  she  occupied  and  obtain 
even  bread  to  eat  was  more  than  Miss  Eivers  had  been 
able  to  do  up  to  the  time  Mr.  Hayne  met  her,  without 
spending  the  remnants  of  the  little  sum  that  remained  in 
her  purse  when  she  left  New  York. 

She  came  to  Boston  quite  by  accident,  if  anything 
may  fairly  be  called  an  accident  in  this  strange  world. 
Her  fear  of  encountering  Mr.  Dale  drove  her  to  leave 
New  York  on  the  second  day  after  her  arrival  there. 
She  knew  almost  nothing  about  the  United  States,  and 
in  his  conversation  with  her,  Kingdon  had  never  hap- 
pened to  mention  the  name  of  the  city  where  his  office 
was  located.  She  scanned  the  newspapers  and  hit  upon 
the  advertisement  of  the  line  of  steamers  that  connects 
the  New  England  capital  with  the  metropolis. 

The  words,  "to  Boston  and  all  other  New  England 
points  "  caught  her  eye  and  struck  her  fancy.  "  New 
England."  It  was  something  to  think  of  a  section  bear- 
ing the  name  of  her  native  country,  and  the  fare  was 
very  low.  That  is  how  she  came  to  locate  in  the  city  of 
her  late  lover  in  her  search  for  a  place  where  he  would 
be  the  least  likely  to  find  her. 

Before  she  left  New  York  Margaret  took  a  precaution 
which  instinct  taught  her  might  be  essential.  She  pur- 
chased a  wedding  ring  and  wore  it  as  a  sign  that  she 
had  a  right  to  the  name  of  "  Mrs.  Taylor,"  which  she 
felt  impelled  to  retain.  To  be  in  the  situation  of  a  com- 
inc  mother,  without  the  insicmia  which  excuses  that  con- 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  193 

dition,  was  more  than  she  could  bear.  To  face  poverty, 
hardship,  want,  that  was  something  for  which  she  could 
prepare;  to  meet  the  sneering  lip,  the  scornful  eye  or  the 
ribald  laugh,  was  more  than  she  deemed  herself  able  to 
endure. 

It  may  be  wondered  at  by  some  that  Margaret  con- 
sented to  accept  the  assistance  offered  by  a  perfect 
stranger,  but  if  the  reader  will  try  for  one  moment  to 
put  himself  in  her  place,  he  may  be  better  able  to  under- 
stand. When  Gordon  Hayne  entered  her  poor  room  she 
had  not  enough  money  to  pay  her  landlord  the  paltry 
dollar  and  a  half  which  he  exacted  as  her  weekly  rent. 
She  had  proved  that  her  ability  at  sewing  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  fight  much  longer  against  the  tide.  The  ever- 
present  dread  of  either  shame  or  death  paralyzed  her  en- 
ergies and  benumbed  her  brain. 

Hunger  drives  a  human  being  to  queer  devices.  The 
lack  of  a  shelter  leads  a  girl  to  think  of  warmth  and 
comfort,  even  in  the  company  of  a  man  whose  atten- 
tions disgust  and  whose  presence  she  loathes.  But  to 
Margaret  the  knowledge  of  her  condition  made  this  pros- 
pect doubly  horrible.  She  firmly  resolved  that  a  plunge 
in  the  waters  of  the  Charles  must  follow  the  failure  of 
her  attempts  to  live  without  disgracing  her  unborn  off- 
spring. 

Opposed  to  such  a  prospect  as  this  the  offer  of  Mr. 
Hayne  can  be  viewed  in  a  different  light.  There  was  no 
choice  between  death  and  the  acceptance  of  a  little 
money,  proffered  in  what  seemed  a  good  spirit,  by  a  man 
who  said  that  the  sum  was  nothing  to  him.  Those  who 
cavil  at  Margaret's  decision  ought  to  be  placed  in  the 
game  dilemma  for  a  few  hours. 

On  Gordon's  second  visit  to  the  room  where  he  had 
kft  her,  he  stayed  a  long  time.  He  drew  from  the  girl 


194:  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

a  statement  of  her  life,  altered  only  at  the  point  where 
the  necessity  of  deception  forced  itself  upon  her.  She 
told  him  of  her  English  birth,  her  Eastern  youth  with 
her  father,  of  Captain  Bivers'  death,  and  then  of  meet- 
ing "Mr.  Taylor,"  an  American  gentleman  who  had 
sympathized  with  her  loss  so  strongly  as  to  offer  her  his 
aid  and  at  last  his  hand  in  marriage.  It  was  on  the  way 
to  America,  she  said,  after  only  a  few  weeks  of  wedded 
life,  that  he  died  on  the  passage,  and  left  her  to  land  in 
a  strange  country  nearly  penniless. 

"Have  you  hunted    up    his    relations?"  asked  Mr. 
Hayne.    "  Perhaps  he  has  some  property  that  belongs  to 


No.  she  replied.  She  did  not  even  know  in  what  State 
he  resided,  being  entirely  ignorant  of  this  part  of  the 
world,  and  trusting  implicitly  to  him.  But  she  was  sure 
he  was  not  a  man  of  fortune.  He  was  a  clerk  in  some 
large  establishment,  she  had  gathered  from  his  con- 
versation. 

She  had  given  some  time  to  the  preparation  of  this 
story,  and  the  listener  had  no  suspicion  that  it  was  in 
any  degree  false.  She  looked  like  the  innocent  girl  she 
was  represented. 

"You  married  Mr.  Taylor  without  knowing  very 
much  about  him?"  he  hazarded. 

"  I  knew  that  I  loved  him!  And  I  would  have  trusted 
him  to  the  world's  end." 

The  amount  that  it  would  cost  to  succor  this  creature 
was  nothing  to  be  counted.  She  was  interesting,  at 
least.  She  would  fill  in  a  vacant  hour,  and  there  was  a 
nharm  in  the  novelty  that  went  with  her. 

"  So  you  have  grown  wiser  since  I  was  here,"  he  said, 
with  his  winning  smile.  "  You  have  decided  to  call  me 
jour  benefactor,  banker  or  what  you  please  to  term  it?" 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  195 

She  stole  a  glance  at  his  face,  which  did  not  escape 
him.  In  it  he  read  the  only  doubt  that  troubled  hep 
mind. 

"  I  shall  not  want  much,"  she  replied.  "  I  prefer  to 
do  all  the  sewing  I  can  get.  If  you  will  help  me  over  the 
rough  places — will  take  the  worry  off  my  mind  till — till 
it  is  over — I  shall  be  grateful.  And,  perhaps — I  will 
keep  account  of  every  cent — some  day  I  may  be  able  to 
repay  it." 

He  laughed.  She  was  so  innocent,  so  droll,  so  in- 
genue. 

"You  will  have  other  sewing  to  do/'  he  suggested. 
"Little  garments." 

"  Yes."  She  flushed  with  every  sentence.  "  There 
will  be  some  things,  of  course.  Still,  I  don't  want  to 
stop  the  work  I  have  been  doing.  I  shall  feel  better  if  I 
am  helping  myself." 

"The  first  thing  you  will  do,  if  you  wish  to  please 
me,"  said  he,  "  is  to  get  a  more  respectable  place  to  live. 
This  is  simply  dreadful,  begging  your  pardon.  I  will  at- 
tend to  the  matter  if  you  wish.  Somewhere  a  little  out 
of  town  would  be  better,  in  a  house  with  a  private 
family." 

She  moved  uneasily  in  her  chair. 

"  Oh,  it  will  be  all  right,"  he  said.  "  I  can  afford  to 
tell  a  few  little  lies — to  say  that  your  late  husband  was 
my  friend,  and  that  I  have  taken  charge  of  your  small 
fortune.  Peopk  are  not  so  suspicious  as  you  seem  to 
think.  And  if  they  were,  the  perfectly  honorable  re- 
lations between  us  will  allay  all  doubts." 

He  convinced  her  by  his  straightforward  manner,  and 
she  said  he  might  look  for  a  room,  only  he  must  bear  the 
question  of  economy  in  mind.  This  he  promised  to  do, 
and  the  next  day  presented  himself  with  the  address  of 


196  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

a  house  in  Dorchester,  where  he  had  secured  the  refusal 
of  a  little  suite  of  three  furnished  rooms,  which  could  be 
had,  he  assured  her,  at  a  merely  nominal  figure. 

"  You  had  best  go  there  alone,"  he  said,  "  and  ex- 
amine the  place.  Make  up  your  mind  in  advance  that 
it  will  suit  you,  for  you  can't  possibly  do  better.  There 
is  a  sweet  little  married  lady  in  the  house,  who  will  fill 
you  full  of  information  about  your  motherly  duties.  I 
will  call  here  again  to-morrow  and  see  that  you  are  all 
right  to  start,  and  as  soon  as  you  are  settled  I  will  come 
out  and  call  on  you." 

Margaret  found  the  rooms  selected  most  delightful 
ones,  and  could  hardly  believe  it  possible  when  the  lady 
of  the  house  told  her  she  should  only  charge  two  dollars 
a  week,  including  heat  and  gas.  If  she  had  known  that 
five  times  this  amount  was  to  be  paid  by  Mr.  Hayne  she 
would  have  understood  it  better.  With  only  slight  mis- 
givings she  removed  her  few  belongings  to  the  new  quar- 
ters, thankful  that  the  disagreeable  landlord  of  the  for- 
mer place  could  not  frighten  her  any  more  with  her  in- 
sinuations and  threats. 

When  one  is  cast  into  a  measureless  sea,  and  finds  that 
a  plank  has  floated  near,  he  cannot  be  too  particular 
about  the  quality  of  the  wood  of  which  it  is  composed. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Witham,  who  appeared  to  own  the  resi- 
dence in  Dorchester,  seemed  to  be  very  pleasant  people. 
There  was  a  marked  difference  in  their  ages,  he  being  at 
least  fifty,  while  his  wife  was  hardly  more  than  twenty- 
five,  and  his  business  took  him  a  great  deal  from  home, 
"but  the  attachment  of  the  couple  to  each  other  was  evi- 
dent. Indeed,  when  the  head  of  the  house  was  there, 
they  acted  more  like  eighteen  and  twenty  than  the  ages 
they  were. 

Mrs.  Witham  was  very  kind  to  Margaret,  from  the 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BON1X  197 

first.  The  English  girl  intended  to  get  her  own  simple 
meals  in  her  apartment,  but  after  a  few  days  she  yield- 
ed to  entreaties  to  join  her  new  friend  at  lunch,  Mrs. 
iWitham  declaring  that  she  was  always  alone  at  that  meal 
and  would  consider  her  company  a  real  favor.  Then, 
whenever  Mr.  Hayne  stayed  to  dinner,  which  he  soon 
got  quite  in  the  habit  of  doing,  Margaret  yielded  to  the 
pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  her,  and  made  the  fourth 
one  of  the  party.  Her  coffee  was  finally  the  only  thing 
ehe  was  sure  to  get  in  her  rooms,  and  she  found  the  new 
home  much  pleasanter  than  she  had  ever  dared  to  hope. 

Mr.  Hayne  humored  Margaret  in  her  fancy  for  sew- 
ing for  wages,  but  through  Mrs.  Witham  she  secured 
work  from  ladies  of  her  acquaintance,  which  paid  much 
better  and  was  more  agreeable  in  every  way.  But  what 
Margaret  liked  best  was  the  sewing  she  soon  began  to  do 
on  the  baby  clothes  which  she  expected  to  need,  and 
which  took  the  hours  after  sunset  when  she  felt  that  the 
day  had  been  honestly  spent  in  labor  for  others. 

Mrs.  Witham  accompanied  her  to  one  of  the  big  shops 
in  the  city,  and  she  made  some  modest  purchases  as  a 
beginning.  The  delight  of  fashioning  the  things  into 
form  for  use  was  as  genuine  as  if  the  coming  event  had 
not  been  shadowed  by  the  darkest  clouds.  God  gives 
great  compensation  to  women  in  exchange  for  the  pain 
they  endure. 

It  was  in  October  that  "  Mrs.  Taylor  n  went  to  live  in 
Dorchester.  She  passed  the  winter  there,  finding  the  as- 
sociations growing  pleasanter  each  day.  Mr.  Hayne 
gave  her  no  cause  to  distrust  him.  He  came  several 
times  a  week  and  showed  a  solicitude  for  her  welfare  that 
touched  her  deeply.  She  grew  to  have  perfect  confi- 
dence in  him.  He  was  so  easy  in  his  manners,  he  seemed 


198  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

EO  gentle,  so  thoughtful,  that  Margaret  learned  to  rely 
upon  him  wholly. 

Gordon  still  paid  frequent  visits  to  the  Dale  house- 
hold. He  went  there  often  when  Kingdon  was  out  and 
not  infrequently  when  he  was  in.  The  slight  mystery 
that  he  discovered  in  the  relations  of  the  young  couple 
interested  him.  There  was  something  strange  in  their 
attitude  toward  each  other  that  he  could  not  yet  fathom. 
Until  he  understood  this  better  he  felt  that  it  was  no 
time  for  him  to  advance  his  lines. 

Whenever  Ida  was  spoken  of  in  his  presence,  Kingdon 
relapsed  into  a  set  expression  of  countenance  that  was 
absolutely  unreadable.  The  wife  did  a  little  better, 
having  to  some  extent  acquired  the  art  of  dissimulation, 
but  there  was  a  trifle  of  constraint  for  which  the  searcher 
could  not  account. 

One  day,  when  he  was  alone  with  Mrs.  Dale,  he  found 
her  in  such  a  state  of  repression  that  he  determined  to 
risk  a  question. 

•  "  You'll  pardon  an  inquiry  from  such  an  old  friend  as 
I  am,  won't  you?"  he  said. 

"  Certainly/'  she  answered,  looking  up  surprised. 

"Are  you  perfectly  happy  with  Kingdon?" 

The  directness  of  the  question  was  his  salvation.  It 
did  not  look  like  a  sneaking  attempt  to  pry  into  affairs 
that  were  not  his  own. 

"  I  do  not  suppose,"  she  replied,  evasively,  "  that  any- 
body has  perfect  happiness  in  this  world." 

"They  should,"  he  responded,  decisively,  "during 
their  honeymoon.  And  with  the  right  kind  of  woman  a 
honeymoon  ought  to  last  a  lifetime." 

It  was  a  very  pretty  sentiment,  and  she  thought  it  did 
him  credit. 

"  Mr.  Dale  is  very  kind,"  she  remarked. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  *99 

"But  he  seems  to  have  something  weighing  on  his 
mind." 

"  His  father's  death  distressed  him  very  much.  His 
business  at  the  office  is  very  exhausting,  too.  He  returns 
tired  and  not  inclined  to  gayety." 

She  was  ready  to  meet  him  at  every  point,  and  he 
changed  his  tactics  a  little. 

"  I  am  going  to  talk  with  him.  If  he  has  anything  in 
the  way  of  trouble  I  shall  find  out  what  it  is.  Why,  it 
is  perfectly  dreadful  for  a  man  to  be  in  his  mood  when 
he  ought  to  be  in  the  seventh  heaven  of  contentment." 

What  would  Mr.  Hayne  say,  she  wondered,  if  he  knew 
the  truth! 

"  Gordon/'  she  said,  in  an  outburst  of  emotion,  "  you 
ought  to  have  a  good,  pure,  sweet  wife  of  your  own. 
Yes,  I  am  sure  you  would  appreciate  such  a  woman  at 
her  full  value." 

He  shook  his  head  despondently. 

"  It  will  never  be,"  he  said.  "  There  are  reasons 
which  I  cannot  tell  you." 

He  flitted  between  the  house  in  town  and  the  house  in 
Dorchester,  never  dreaming  how  closely  they  were  re- 
lated to  each  other. 

And  he  was  present  in  the  parlor  of  the  Withams 
when  the  physician  came  down  to  tell  them  that  Mrs. 
Taylor  was  the  mother  of  a  fine,  healthy  boy,  and  was 
doing  very  well,  indeed. 


200  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND, 


CHAPTEE  XXI. 

SIDNEY  BROOKS  TAKES  A  HAND. 

Never  for  a  moment  had  Kingdon  Dale  ceased  to 
think  of  his  lost  Margaret.  Although  every  effort  failed, 
although  he  sank  into  a  deep  despondency  over  his  un- 
happy situation,  and  indulged  in  painful  dreams  as  to 
what  life  she  might  now  be  leading,  he  resolved  in  his 
inmost  heart  to  be  true  to  her  memory.  She  was  the 
•nly  woman  he  ever  had,  ever  could  love. 

He  thought  often  of  the  curt  letter  that  Sidney 
Brooks  had  sent  him,  and  determined  that  he  would, 
some  day,  confide  his  story  to  the  young  lawyer,  for  the 
double  purpose  of  setting  him  right  on  the  request  so 
disdainfully  treated,  and  also  for  the  bare  relief  of  di- 
viding with  some  confidential  person  the  secret  that 
galled  him.  Mr.  Brooks  had  never  met  him  alone  since 
that  occurrence.  When  they  encountered  each  other  in 
public  places  the  curtness  of  the  lawyer's  nod  showed 
that  he  still  held  his  former  opinion  of  a  man  who  would 
cross  the  ocean  with  a  mistress  just  before  his  arranged 
marriage  to  a  beautiful  girl,  and  while  on  his  wedding 
tour  write  to  a  friend  to  ascertain  the  address  of  the 
paramour  he  had  either  lost  or  deserted. 

The  early  spring  arrived  before  Dale  put  his  intention 
into  practice.  One  day  he  went  directly  to  Mr.  Brooks' 
office  and  asked  a  private  interview. 

"  I  want  to  tell  you  a  story  of  a  personal  nature,  and  to 
get  your  advice  and  assistance,"  he  said,  as  the  cold,  blue 
eyes  of  his  companion  were  raised  to  his. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND.  201 

"  Is  it  a  legal  matter?"  asked  Brooks,  shortly. 

"  I  don't  know  how  much  it  may  prove  so,"  responded 
Kingdon.  "But  at  least  there  is  no  reason  why  you 
should  treat  me  like  a  stranger,  when  we  had  learned,  I 
am  sure,  to  regard  each  other  as  friends." 

The  stern  expression  on  the  lawyer's  face  did  not 
relax. 

"  I  considered  the  letter  you  sent  me  an  insulting 
one,"  said  he. 

"  So  I  supposed  from  your  answer.  What  I  wish  to 
show  you  is  that  it  was  not  so  intended.  To  do  that  I 
shall  have  to  refer  to  events  occurring  some  time  pre- 
vious. Come,  Sidney,  don't  be  too  severe  until  you  have 
heard  all." 

"  I  don't  know  why  I  should  hear  all,  or  anything," 
was  the  reply.  "  You  have  your  own  attorney.  Why  do 
you  not  tell  these  things  to  him?" 

"  That  would  not  do,"  said  Mr.  Dale.  "  I  want  you 
to  see  that  I  have  a  right  to  be  still  your  friend;  and, 
having  established  that  point,  I  want  to  talk  to  you  as 
one  friend  talks  to  another." 

Mr.  Brooks  seemed  to  waver.. 

''  What  you  say  is  to  be  under  the  seal  of  confidence 
between  a  man  and  his  solicitor,  I  presume,"  said  he,  in- 
terrogatively. 

"  I  will  leave  that  to  you.  But  I  should  rather  call  it 
between  one  gentleman  and  another." 

Mr.  Brooks'  lip  curled  slightly. 

"  Go  on,"  he  said.  "  But  say  nothing  that  you  are 
likely  to  repent." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Kingdon.  "  Let  me  begin,  then, 
by  referring  to  our  meeting  on  the  steamer  at  Gibraltar. 
I  had  at  that  time,  as  you  observed,  a  young  lady  under 
my  protection — " 


202  THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND. 

"  Who  was  registered  as  your  wife,  or  that  of  the  alias 
which  you  assumed/'  broke  in  Brooks. 

"  1  will  not  dispute  you/'  said  Dale,  choking.  "  When 
I  first  saw  you  on  the  deck  I  pretended  that  you  mistook 
my  identity.  You  may  guess  I  was  not  anxious  to  meet 
any  person  who  knew  me.  A  moment's  reflection  taught 
me  that  it  was  foolish  to  carry  out  the  pretense,  and  I 
went  to  you  frankly  and  admitted  the  deception.  You 
know  very  well  that  I  continued  to  pose  as  the  husband 
of  that  lady  during  the  voyage,  and  that  we  went  ashore 
together.  Now  I  want  to  ask  this  question:  Would 
that  fact  in  itself  make  my  friendship  a  thing  you  would 
desire  to  end?" 

The  clock  in  the  office  ticked  loudly  while  Mr.  Brooks 
was  forming  his  reply. 

"  In  itself,  no,"  he  said,  at  last.  "  I  do  not  pretend  to 
Bupervise  the  morals  of  my  acquaintances  as  regards  a 
certain  class  of  women." 

Dale  winced  at  the  expression. 

"But  this  lady  with  me  was  not  a  member  of  the 
class  to  which  you  refer,"  said  he,  quickly,  annoyed  that 
Margaret  should  rest  even  for  a  second  under  such  an 
imputation. 

"  That  makes  me  a  little  more  doubtful  as  to  what  I 
should  say  to  your  first  question,"  said  the  lawyer.  "  I 
should  have  to  knew  the  whole  history  of  your  acquaint- 
ance with  her,  and  that,  of  course,  I  neither  expect  nor 
desire." 

"  You  must  understand  this  matter,  as  far  as  you  hear 
it  at  all,  exactly  as  it  is,"  said  Kingdon.  "  The  lady  to 
whom  you  were  introduced  as  '  Mrs.  Taylor '  was  as  pure 
as  an  angel  up  to  the  day  she  and  I  landed  at  Gibraltar." 

"  I  think  you  had  best  tell  me  no  more — it  can  do  no 


THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND-  203 

good,"  interrupted  the  attorney,  with  great  uneasiness 
of  manner. 

"  It  certainly  will  do  much  harm  to  leave  my  story  at 
this  point,"  was  the  reply.  "  At  the  risk  of  your  final 
condemnation,  I  entreat  you  to  hear  me  through." 

Mr.  Brooks,  who  had  risen  from  his  chair,  resumed  his 
seat,  and  put  himself  in  the  position  of  a  listener,  though 
without  speaking. 

ft  We  were  both  violently  in  love,"  pursued  Mr.  Dale. 
""There  was  no  deceit,  no  promises,  no  entreaties.  I 
had  told  her  that  I  was  engaged  to  he  married  to  a  girl 
for  whom  I  had  not  the  least  affection — " 

"  Good  God!"  cried  Mr.  Brooks,  sharply. 

"  Which  was  true.  To  prolong  the  life  of  my  dearly 
loved  father,  threatened  hy  any  resistance  to  his  will,  I 
had  consented  to  have  the  ceremony  performed,  after 
telling  both  Mrs.  Bruce  and  Ida  that  I  should  never  let 
it  be  anything  more  than  a  meaningless  string  of  words. 
But  when  I  met  the  lady  whom  you  saw,  the 
first  real  passion  of  my  heart  sprang  up  and  over- 
whelmed me.  I  saw  that  to  carry  out  my  promise  in 
America  was  to  condemn  myself  to  a  lifetime  of  misery, 
and  I  resolved  at  whatever  cost  to  refuse. 

"  But  when  I  related  the  circumstance  to  Margaret — • 
to  '  Mrs.  Taylor,'  I  mean — she  saw  the  matter  in  a  light 
that  I  could  not  have  expected.  Admitting  that  she 
loved  me,  that  I  was  dearer  to  her  than  all  else,  she  de- 
clared that  she  would  not  step  between  me  and  the  wo- 
man to  whom  I  was  engaged.  She  was  an  orphan,  re- 
cently become  so,  and  nearly  penniless.  She  had  no  re- 
lations to  whom  she  could  go,  and  her  future  had  not  a 
single  ray  of  sunlight  in  it,  unless  she  became  my  wife. 
Still,  no  argument  that  I  could  make  had  any  effect  upon 
her.  She  might  die,  starve,  find  bread  in  somebody's 


204  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

kitchen — but  she  would  not  take  a  sweetheart  from  an- 
other, even  though  the  man  swore  that  he  would  never 
have  the  marriage  with  that  other  woman  performed." 

Mr.  Brooks  had  become  interested  at  last. 

"A  noble  girl!  A  magnificent  girl!"  he  cried,  with 
enthusiasm. 

"  You  are  right,  from  a  certain  standpoint,"  admitted 
Mr.  Dale,  sadly,  "but  the  effect  was  as  disastrous  as 
could  be  conceived.  Having  determined  that  she  could 
not,  would  not  marry  me — and  that  she  never  would 
love  another — this  strange  girl  lived  as  my  wife  for  the 
next  fortnight,  under  the  specious  reasoning  that  it 
would  resign  me,  when  I  came  to  reflect,  to  parting  with 
one  who  had  violated  the  moral  law  and  conventional 
usage  of  the  world." 

"And  you,  ten  times  wiser  than  she,  accepted  this 
sacrifice!"  said  Brooks,  with  a  frown. 

"Accepted  it?  I  loved  that  girl  with  all  my  soul.  I 
could  not  bear  the  thought  of  losing  her.  I  wanted  to 
take  her  to  America  with  me.  I  succeeded  in  getting 
her  to  make  the  voyage  which  she  had  sworn  she  would 
not  take.  She  drew  out  of  me  a  promise  that  when  we 
reached  New  York  I  would  find  her  a  situation  and 
leave  her.  This  I  intended  to  do;  I  meant  to  help  her 
to  earn  an  honest  livelihood  and  then — to  leave  the  rest 
to  fate.  But  before  we  had  been  on  shore  an  hour  she 
eluded  and  escaped  me.  I  have  seen  her  since  but  once, 
and  then  only  for  an  instant,  from  the  window  of  a  car- 
riage." 

The  trembling  voice  and  dejected  manner  of  Mr.  Dale 
told  but  too  plainly  the  sincerity  of  his  statement. 

"  She  deserted  you  without  the  least  quarrel?"  asked 
Mr.  Brooks.  * 

".When  our  relations  were  the  happiest.    I  suppos* 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  205 

she  was  afraid  that  if  she  remained  where  I  could  see  her 
I  would  not  return  to  what  she  considered  my  e  duty/ 
and  marry  Miss  Bruce.  She  preferred  all  the  risks  of 
life  in  a  strange  city,  with  a  nearly  empty  purse,  to  lead- 
ing me  out  of  what  seemed  to  her  the  ( right '  path." 

"  Have  you  tried,  seriously,  to  find  her?" 

Then  Kingdon  related  the  various  means  he  had  taken 
to  gain  information  about  Margaret,  and  told  of  seeing 
her  face  in  the  crowd  as  he  went  to  the  station  with  his 
bride,  after  he  had  come  to  believe  her  dead. 

"  You  see  now/'  he  added,  "  why  I  wrote  you  from 
the  Crawford  House.  And  I  think  you  are  at  least  re- 
lieved from  the  impression  that  I  wanted  anything  of 
you  hut  what  was  decent  and  honorable." 

Mr.  Brooks  bowed  constrainedly. 

"  If  you  only  wanted  to  see  to  her  material  needs,"  he 
said;  "if  there  was  no  design  on  your  part  to  resume 
your  illicit  relations,  when  you  were  married  to  an- 
other." 

"That  was  all,"  replied  Kingdon,  in  a  depressed  tone. 
"  I  do  not  know  to-day  but  she  is  starving  or  suffering 
the  cold  of  winter.  I  think  sometimes  that  she  has 
buried  her  sorrows  beneath  the  waters  of  the  Harbor.  I 
awake  at  night  with  fearful  dreams  of  her  in  deadly 
peril.  All  day  she  comes  between  me  and  my  work  at 
the  office.  The  father  for  whom  I  married  a  woman 
whom  I  could  not  love  only  survived  my  wedding  a  few 
weeks.  Can  there  be  an  unhappier  human  being  in  ex- 
istence?" 

The  pale  countenance  of  Sidney  Brooks,  that  had  been 
full  of  sympathy  a  moment  before,  clouded  again  at  the 
question. 

"  Yes,  there  are  at  least  two,"  he  said,  "  quite  as  un- 
happy as  you.  One  of  them  is  the  English  girl  you  be- 


206  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

trayed.  The  other,"  he  hesitated  a  moment  and  then 
spoke  clearer  and  louder,  "  is  the  wife  you  have  taken 
to  your  empty  heart/' 

A  judge  on  the  bench  might  have  spoken  in  the  same 
tone  to  a  hardened  criminal  he  was  about  to  sentence. 

"  But,"  said  Kingdon,  overwhelmed,  "  I  was  hedged 
in.  I  planned  nothing  wrong.  I  had  many  an  inter- 
view with  my  father  in  reference  to  his  project  for  mar- 
rying me  to  the  daughter  of  his  neighbor,  in  each  of 
which  I  showed  my  disinclination  for  the  plan.  To  ir- 
ritate him  too  far  was,  the  doctors  told  me,  to  kill  him. 
What  you  allude  to  as  the  '  betrayal '  of  the  lady  you 
saw  on  the  steamer  does  not  deserve  that  epithet.  We 
drifted  together  like  the  streams  of  two  rivulets  which 
nature  has  intended  to  make  into  one  river.  All  my 
sentiments  toward  her  were  of  unutterable  affection.  I 
could  not  foresee  that  she  would  tear  herself  away,  when 
she  loved  me  so  dearly.  And  when  she  was  lost,  and 
months  of  searching  failed  to  find  her,  what  could  I  do 
but  carry  out  my  father's  wish,  after  I  had  told  Ida  and 
her  mother  the  hollowness  my  professions  would  have 
at  the  altar,  and  they  had  positively  refused  to  release 
me?" 

The  lawyer  looked  up  quickly. 

"  You  told  them  ?"  he  said,  interrogatively. 

"Certainly.    I  said  I  had  no  heart  to  give." 

Mr  Dale  reverted  to  the  original  theme,  and  asked 
the  lawyer's  advice  as  to  what  he  should  do  now,  under 
the  circumstances. 

"  There's  nothing  you  can  do,"  said  Brooks.  "  You 
have  cat  yourself  off  from  the  power  to  do  anything." 

"Well,  after  hearing  my  story,  have  you  the  same 
harsh  feeling  toward  me  that  you  had  when  you  sent 
that  letter  to  ?Te~  Hampshire?" 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  307 

"No;  I  have  a  different  feeling,  in  which  a  certain 
amount  of  pity  is  mingled  with  regret  at  the  general 
course  you  have  adopted.  But  I  am  not  your  censor." 

Mr.  Dale  looked  distinctly  relieved. 

"  I  wish  you  would  come  and  see  us  sometimes/'  he 
said.  "  It  is  pretty  dull,  naturally,  when  Ida  and  I  are 
alone.  Gordon  Hayne  calls  regularly,  and,  of  course, 
there  are  half  a  hundred  other  friends  who  come  and 
go;  hut  I'd  like  you  to  run  around  in  an  informal  way. 
Confound  it!  I'd  got  to  liking  you  immensely  well, 
when  that  unlucky  letter  pushed  us  apart." 

The  lawyer  mused  for  some  seconds,  and  then  said 
that  he  would  come. 

"  And  if  I  run  across  the  English  girl — what  was  it 
you  called  her,  'Mrs.  Taylor' — I'll  try  to  learn  her 
whereabouts.  I  rely  on  your  statement  that  you  only 
want  to  see  that  she  is  provided  for.  Poor  creature!  I 
am  sorry  I  did  not  understand  the  matter  at  first." 

"  It  isn't  likely  that  she  bears  that  name  now,"  said 
Kingdon,  with  a  shiver.  "  Her  real  name — this  is  be- 
tween a  solicitor  and  his  client,  of  course — is  Margaret 
Rivers.  But  very  probably,  in  her  mad  desire  to  escape 
me,  she  has  adopted  one  different  from  either." 

Mr.  Dale  rose.  Then,  as  the  lawyer  touched  his  out- 
stretched hand,  he  added,  "  I  want  to  be  your  friend, 
Sidney.  I  want  it  very  much.  There's  not  another  man 
living  that  I  would  have  trusted  with  my  story,  and  it's 
done  me  a  world  of  good  to  relieve  the  terrible  strain  of 
carrying  my  secret." 


208  THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND. 


CHAPTEE  XXII. 

"WHOM  DOES  HE  RESEMBLE?" 

It  was  certainly  quite  an  experience  for  Gordon  Hayne 
to  watch  the  course  of  Margaret  Rivers'  life  during  that 
winter.  He  was  her  only  friend,  for  the  people  of  the 
house  to  which  he  recommended  her  were  paid  liberally 
for  all  their  attentions.  "  Mrs.  Witham  "  had  never  been 
united  in  the  bonds  of  matrimony  to  the  individual  who 
passed  as  her  husband,  but  for  all  that  she  had  many 
virtues,  among  which  was  a  kindly  heart,  and  she  did 
everything  she  could  for  the  unfortunate  girl  who  had 
become  her  lodger.  It  was  Hayne,  however,  who  paid 
the  bills,  and  this  is,  after  all,  the  surest  test  of  friend- 
ship. 

He  said  to  himself  that  he  must  be  entertained,  and 
that  he  could  not  have  found  so  much  for  so  little 
money  anywhere  else.  But  his  intercourse  with  Miss 
Rivers  could  not  help  developing  the  softest  parts  of  his 
nature,  and  an  acquaintance  which  he  had  entered  upon 
from  the  most  questionable  motives  developed  into  a 
school  for  generous  impulses. 

When  the  baby  was  born  he  had  a  half-feeling  of  pro- 
prietorship in  its  tiny  frame.  He  took  it  in  his  arms  and 
rocked  it  in  a  chair,  sometimes  for  five  whole  minutes. 
He  had  never  paid  attention  to  such  mites  before,  and 
was  interested  in  every  detail  of  its  development.  He 
wondered  if  he  could  ever  have  been  such  a  helpless, 
squirming  bundle  of  cartilage.  When  it  was  ill  with  any 
of  the  slight  complaints  incidental  to  infancy,  he  walked 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  209 

the  floor  uneasily,  pierced  by  the  least  of  its  cries.  There 
was  in  this  young  reprobate  the  making  of  a  decent  hus- 
band if  he  had  only  been  taken  in  hand  in  time. 

Margaret  recovered  rapidly.  She  had  a  good  constitu- 
tion, and  the  care  which  was  given  her  prevented  any 
backward  step.  Her  mind  was  immensely  relieved  by 
the  change  in  her  surroundings,  and,  though  the 
thought  of  Kingdon  never  left  her,  she  was  reconciled, 
in  a  dumb  sort  of  way,  to  what  she  regarded  as  the  in- 
evitable. Never  having  heard  anything  about  him,  not 
supposing  that  he  was  within  a  hundred  miles  of  her, 
she  always  pictured  him  as  a  benedict,  reconciled  to  his 
wife  and  probably  glad  that  his  wild  notion  of  marrying 
a  friendless  stranger  had  been  frustrated.  As  to  Mr. 
Hayne — who  had  after  a  while  confided  to  her  his  real 
name — she  could  not  understand  his  kindness,  but  she 
accepted  it  for  what  it  appeared,  thinking  that  "  suffi- 
cient unto  the  day  is  the  evil/' 

A  waif  thrown  to  the  waves  cannot  be  too  particular 
upon  which  shore  she  is  cast. 

The  good  feeling  between  Mr.  Hayne  and  Sidney 
Brooks  had  never  been  broken,  in  spite  of  the  veiled 
threats  of  the  latter  over  the  name  of  Mrs.  Dale.  Gordon 
bethought  himself  one  day  that  it  would  be  a  jolly  idea 
to  take  Sidney  out  to  Dorchester  and  show  him  the 
mother  and  child  there.  Without  saying  in  so  many 
words  that  the  baby  was  his  own  he  could  convey  that 
impression,  and  divert  the  lawyer's  mind  from  Ida,  who 
was  still  the  direct  object  in  all  Gordon's  plans. 

Margaret  was  an  amusement  of  the  hour;  Ida  was  the 
passion  of  a  lifetime.  At  least  this  is  what  Mr.  Hayne 
believed  in  regard  to  his  sentiments,  and,  as  far  as  they 
influenced  his  conduct,  it  had  the  same  effect  as  if  it 
were  true. 


210  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

"  I  want  you  to  come  out  in  the  suburbs  with  me  and 
dine  with  some  friends/'  he  said  to  Brooks.  "  You  are 
so  absorbed  in  business  that  you  are  getting  to  be  a 
regular  old  fogy.  You  don't  go  anywhere  except  to  dry 
receptions,  where  nobody  says  anything  they  mean. 
Come  with  me  to-morrow  evening,  and  I  will  show  you 
a  novelty." 

Mr.  Brooks  answered  that  he  did  not  shine  in  private 
houses,  and  he  knew  it.  Who  were  these  people  whom 
he  was  asked  to  visit? 

"  Why,  they're  only  just  plain,  ordinary  folks,''*  smiled 
Gordon.  "  There  is  a  Mrs.  Witham  who  runs  the  house, 
end  sometimes  a  Mr.  Witham,  though  he  is  not  essential, 
and  boarding  with  them  is  a  Mrs.  Taylor  and  her  ex- 
cessively new  infant  boy.  You'll  get  a  simple  table,  a 
little  conversation  of  a  depth  that  needn't  frighten  you 
and  a  view  of  a  somewhat  remarkable  baby.  It'll  be  a 
change,  and  I  shall  consider  it  a  favor.  Come,  don't 
make  it  a  matter  for  serious  thinking.  Just  say  you'll 
go,  and  Fll  send  word  we're  coming." 

"  But  I've  never  met  any  of  them — " 

"  That's  just  the  reason  you  are  to  go — so  that  you 
will  meet  them.  I've  talked  about  you  times  enough, 
and  they've  sent  the  warmest  invitation  to  have  you 
come.  To-morrow  evening,  then,  I  will  be  at  your  office 
at  live.'" 

This  world  is  very,  very  small.  I  could  tell  a  dozen 
stories  in  my  own  experience  to  prove  that.  A  courier 
whom  I  cnce  had  in  Algiers  told  me  he  had  served  an 
American  family  the  previous  year  in  that  capacity,  and 
had  no  doubt  I  would  know  them.  Of  course,  I  smiled 
at  the  idea,  till  he  mentioned  their  name,  when  I  found 
I  knew  them  very  well.  At  Grindelwald,  a  year  ago,  I 
heard  a  gentleman  remark  that  he  would  give  anything 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

for  a  recent  Boston  paper;  and  when  I  offered  him  a  bun- 
dle I  had  just  received,  I  discovered  that  he  lived  on  the 
same  street  at  home  that  I  did.  An  Austrian  who  occupied 
a  compartment  with  us  in  Germany,  and  who  spoke  per- 
fect English.,  remarked  that  he  had  an  American  friend 
in  London,  a  newspaper  representative  located  there, 
and  on  the  name  being  mentioned  it  was  that  of  a  par- 
ticular friend  of  mine.  The  world  is  really  very  small. 

When  Mr.  Brooks  promised  Kingdon  Dale  that  he 
would  speak  to  "  Mrs.  Taylor  "  if  he  ever  encountered 
her,  and  ascertain  if  she  was  in  need,  he  little  thought 
that  he  would  be  asked  by  their  mutual  friend  to  go  and 
dine  with  that  person  so  soon.  The  name  awakened  no 
memories  in  his  mind,  the  Taylor  family  being  repre- 
sented by  so  many  thousands  of  people  in  all  parts  of  the 
country. 

All  that  Margaret  knew  in  relation  to  his  coming  was 
that  Mr.  Hayne  had  promised  to  bring  a  gentleman 
friend  to  dinner,  and  had  asked  her  to  prepare  her  baby 
for  exhibition  to  a  bachelor,  whom  he  wished  to  dazzle 
with  its  magnificence. 

The  young  mother  had  been  about  the  house  for  sev- 
eral weeks,  and  regained  much  of  her  natural  and 
healthful  appearance.  To  her  comely  face  there  was 
added  the  ineffable  charm  that  motherhood  brings  even 
to  the  plainest  of  women,  that  sign  of  having  partaken  of 
the  functions  of  deity  in  the  all-glorious  creation  of  a 
human  soul.  Mr.  Hayne  thought  with  elation  of  the 
impression  she  ought  to  make  on  his  ascetic  friend,  and 
planned  a  most  enjoyable  evening. 

Brooks  paid  but  slight  attention  to  Mrs.  Witham,  be- 
yond the  conventionalities,  but  when  "  Mrs.  Taylor " 
came  down  he  evinced  the  most  remarkable  emotion. 

Margaret  also  showed  plainly  to  the  observant  eyes  of 


212  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

Mr.  Hayne  that  something  unsusual  was  the  matter.  It 
was  evident  to  the  most  casual  observer  that  it  was  not 
the  first  time  these  two  had  met.  Neither  of  them  was 
skilled  in  concealing  their  thoughts,  and  both  were 
equally  surprised  at  this  meeting. 

"Ah!  You  are  old  acquaintances!"  exclaimed  Gor- 
don. 

"We  happened  to  cross  the  ocean  on  the  same 
steamer,"  stammered  Brooks,  not  at  all  sure  that  it  was 
the  best  thing  to  say,  but  fearful  that  if  she  spoke  first 
something  even  more  embarrassing  might  develop. 

"What!"  cried  Gordon.  "The  boat  that  Kingdon 
Dale  came  on!  Well,  that  is  a  coincidence!"  He  re- 
flected an  instant  on  this  theme,  and  then  said,  "  You 
were  aware,  then,  of  poor  Mr.  Taylor's  death  during  the 
voyage  and  of  his  burial  at  sea." 

Through  the  somewhat  slow  mind  of  the  lawyer  there 
dawned  the  knowledge  that  the  story  which  Mrs.  Tay- 
lor had  told  to  Hayne  was  not  entirely  a  correct  one. 
He  would  do  well  if  he  escaped  getting  mixed  in  her 
aft'airs,  which,  above  all  things,  he  desired  to  avoid. 

"  I  am  afraid  we  are  entering  on  a  painful  subject," 
he  said,  constrainedly. 

"  Very  painful,"  said  Margaret,  wiping  away  the  tears 
that  had  sprung  to  her  eyes.  She  was  trembling,  for  she 
had  learned  that  Mr.  Hayne  knew  Kingdon. 

Mr.  Hayne  wondered  that  he  had  not  had  more  tact. 
Of  course,  the  recollection  of  a  husband's  death  and 
burial  was  the  worst  possible  thing  with  which  to  begin 
an  evening  he  had  intended  to  be  a  pleasant  one.  The 
drops  in  Mrs.  Taylor's  eyes  smote  him  with  deep  re- 
gret. He  could  have  cursed  himself  for  his  lack  of  com- 
mon sense. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  he  said,  with  feeling.    "  It  waa 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  213 

thoughtless  of  me.  Ah,  good-evening,  Mr.  Witham," 
he  added,  as  that  gentleman  joined  the  party,  much  to 
his  relief.  "  My  friend,  Mr.  Brooks — Mr.  Witham." 

The  lady  of  the  house  helped  out  the  situation  by  as- 
signing the  seats.  Margaret  found  herself  next  to  Mr. 
Brooks,  with  Mr.  Hayne  exactly  opposite.  The  din- 
ner was  served,  and  the  conversation  turned  into 
more  agreeable  channels,  Mr.  Witham  proving  to  be  an 
interesting  talker,  and  Mrs.  Witham  possessing  the 
charm  of  a  true  hostess. 

Of  course,  the  strangeness  of  meeting  the  sweetheart 
of  Mr.  Dale  in  a  house  where  she  was  known  to  his 
friend  Hayne  was  too  great  to  allow  the  matter  to  drop, 
even  for  a  second,  from  the  lawyer's  mind.  Had  it  not 
been  for  Kingdon's  confession  of  a  few  days  before,  a 
confession  made  with  all  the  marks  of  truth  and  in  a 
manner  that  proved  its  sincerity,  Brooks  would  have 
suspected  that  the  husband  of  Ida  Bruce  was  maintain- 
ing his  mistress  in  this  place,  with  Gordon's  knowledge 
and  connivance.  If  there  was  any  reliance  to  be  placed 
on  testimony  this  suspicion  must  be  dismissed  at  once. 

But  how  had  Hayne  come  to  know  her?  Mr.  Brooks 
knew  the  tatter's  reputation  among  women,  and  was 
ready  to  believe  anything  to  his  discredit  in  that  line. 
It  was  clear  that  Margaret  had  told  a  story  of  the  death 
of  her  "husband"  at  sea,  which  had  no  foundation. 
Brooks  had  been  on  the  steamer  and  known  that  the 
only  "  Mr.  Taylor  "  aboard  was  Dale.  In  fact,  no  per- 
son had  died  on  the  voyage. 

And  this  young  woman  now  had  a  child,  a  very  young 
child,  too.  Whose  child  was  it?  Was  its  father  some 
genuine  Mr.  Taylor — not  a  husband,  of  course,  since 
Dale  had  declared  her  right  name  to  be  Margaret  Rivers, 
and  that  she  was  unmarried?  These  were  a  thousand 


2U  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BONO. 

things  that  might  be  true,  if  the  evidence  could  only 
he  obtained.  At  present  the  lawyer  could  not  tell 
whether  to  regard  the  woman  at  his  side  as  merely  an 
unfortunate  girl,  misled  by  her  too  strong  affections,  or 
a  deep,  unscrupulous  woman  of  whom  it  was  wise  to  be- 
ware. 

He  believed  he  ought  to  ferret  this  matter  to  the  bot- 
tom, if  only  in  his  own  defense,  and  his  legal  mind  set 
itself  about  the  task,  in  his  own  slow,  plodding,  but  sure 
way. 

As  to  Margaret,  she  was  very  much  agitated  and  well 
aware  of  the  necessity  of  concealing  her  feelings.  In  the 
few  words  spoken  she  had  learned  that  Mr.  Dale  was  an 
intimate  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Hayne  as  well  as  of  Mr. 
Brooks,  and  that  in  all  probability  he  had  no  knowledge 
of  her  present  whereabouts  or  that  Gordon  had  ever 
seen  her.  In  the  vast  area  which  the  map  showed  her 
was  called  America  she  had  felt  it  utterly  improbable 
that  she  would  ever  hear  mentioned  the  name  of  her 
lover.  Yet  here  she  was,  dining  with  two  of  his  friends, 
and  for  all  she  could  see  he  might  have  been  one  of  the 
party  himself  as  easily  as  Mr.  Brooks. 

Her  recent  illness  would  account  for  any  symptoms  of 
ill-health  which  appeared  during  the  progress  of  the 
meal,  but  she  must  be  on  the  qui  vive  against  surprises. 
It  was  a  difficult  task  for  a  girl  who  had  never  in  her 
life  told  but  one  untruth. 

"  Have  you  seen  Kingdon  lately?"  was  one  of  the 
questions  which  Gordon  asked  of  the  lawyer. 

It  often  seems  like  a  fatality  when  a  subject  that 
should  be  avoided  gets  into  a  conversation. 

"  Yes,"  was  the  reply.  "  He  passed  over  an  hour  in 
my  office  the  other  day/' 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  215 

"His  wife  told  me  yesterday  that  you  hadn't  called 
on  them  since  their  marriage." 

The  attorney  could  not  hide  his  confusion,  but  he 
always  acted  queerly  when  women  were  being  discussed. 

"  I  have  been  busy,"  he  said.  "  But  I  am  going — 
soon.  I  promised  Kingdon  that  I  would." 

Mrs.  Taylor  was  apparently  listening  to  some  remarks 
of  Mrs.  Witham's,  but  she  heard  every  word  that  passed 
between  the  gentlemen.  So  her  former  lover  was  mar- 
ried and  from  all  that  appeared  everything  was  well 
with  him.  A  cold  wave  swept  across  her  heart;  not  of 
sorrow,  not  of  jealousy,  but  of  icy  pain.  She  had  never 
realized  quite  so  strongly  as  now  the  intensity  of  her  love 
for  him. 

"You  go  there  often,  I  suppose,"  was  Mr.  Brooks' 
next  observation. 

He  wanted  to  judge  from  Gordon's  manner  whether 
he  was  more  than  usually  interested  in  the  Dale  house- 
hold. He  talked  freely  before  Mrs.  Taylor,  for  he 
thought,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  the  young  merchant 
had  hidden  his  real  name  from  her. 

"Not  so  very  often,"  replied  Hayne.  "Kingdon  is 
not  the  thoroughly  likable  fellow  he  used  to  be.  I'm 
not  criticising  him,"  he  continued,  seeing  the  inquiring 
look  on  his  friend's  face.  "He's  had  some  trouble,  I 
think,  that  makes  him  less  companionable.  He  is  ab- 
sent-minded, as  if  he  were  thinking  always  of  something 
far  away.  Why,"  the  speaker  looked  at  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Witham,  saw  that  they  were  engaged  in  conversation 
with  Margaret,  "he's  been  upset  ever  since  he  came 
from  Europe." 

"  Indeed!"  said  the  lawyer,  absently. 

"Yes,"  pursued  Hayne,  lowering  his  voice,  but  not 
enough  to  escape  the  ears  most  interested,  "  I  saw  him 


216  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

in  New  York  that  very  evening.  I  ran  across  him  in  the 
street,  perfectly  distrait,  almost  out  of  his  head.  He  had 
eaten  nothing  since  breakfast.  I  pulled  him  into  a 
restaurant  and  put  a  little  food  and  drink  into  him,  but 
he  only  partially  rallied.  Eeally,  I  was  afraid  to  trust 
him  alone.  I  went  to  his  hotel  and  stayed  till  morning, 
and  after  a  while  I  persuaded  him  to  go  home  to  his  in- 
valid father.  That  was  the  only  name  to  influence  him 
with,  for  he  worshipped  the  old  gentleman.  He's  never 
been  quite  right  since;  and,  of  course,  the  death  of  his 
parent  has  not  helped  him  any.  I  am  going  to  advise 
Mm  to  see  a  doctor  skilled  in  mental  diseases." 

Ordinarily  Mr.  Brooks  would  have  declined  to  listen 
to  these  statements,  for  he  detested  gossip,  but  he  was 
so  interested  in  Mr.  Dale's  relations  to  the  young  wo- 
man at  his  side  that  he  could  not  resist  giving  attention. 
Margaret,  on  her  part,  bore  the  infliction  well,  and  man- 
aged, while  not  losing  a  word,  to  appear  engrossed  in 
some  remarks  which  Mr.  Witham  was  making. 

Kingdon  was  not  only  married,  then,  but  his  father 
was  dead!  She  knew  well  why  he  had  wandered  half 
demented  about  the  avenues  of  New  York  on  the  night 
that  she  ran  away  from  him.  But  time  had  brought 
things  around.  He  had  forgotten  his  mad  infatuation 
in  season  to  perform  the  solemn  contract  he  had  entered 
into  with  his  fiancee.  If  he  was  still  sad  enough  to  at- 
tract the  attention  of  his  friends,  he  had  at  least  done  his 
duty.  Margaret  felt  a  glow  of  honest  pride  in  the  result 
of  her  terrible  sacrifice. 

"And  now,  Mr.  Brooks  wishes  to  see  the  crowning 
glory  of  this  house,"  cried  Gordon,  gayly,  when  the 
party  had  left  the  table  and  adjourned  to  the  parlor. 
"Mrs.  Taylor,  may  we  have  the  pleasure  of  showing 
him  your  youngest?" 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  217 

The  mother  blushed,  partly  with  pride  and  partly 
from  the  consciousness  that  the  child's  father  was  known 
to  two  of  the  gentlemen  present,  though,  perhaps,  sus- 
pected by  only  one. 

"  "Would  you  really  care  to  see  him?"  she  asked  of  the 
lawyer.  "  He  is  very  tiny  yet,  and — " 

"The  old  excuse,"  laughed  Gordon.  "Mr.  Brooks 
won't  expect  to  see  a  giant  in  a  month-old  infant.  Oh, 
we  must  have  him  brought  down.  There  is  no  valid  ex- 
cuse for  refusal." 

Sidney  thought,  as  Margaret  disappeared,  that  per- 
haps the  countenance  of  the  child  might  give  some  clue 
to  its  parentage;  but  when  the  baby  appeared  he  saw 
nothing  in  the  chubby  little  face  that  could  be  used  on 
the  witness-stand.  He  felt  drawn  to  the  child,  however, 
from  the  instant  he  got  a  view  of  it.  A  roly-poly  bundle 
of  human  flesh,  with  dark  eyes  and  clenched  fists,  this 
was  the  way  it  presented  itself  before  his  bachelor  vis- 
ion, and  yet  it  was  a  potentiality  whose  existence  might 
be  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  world. 

"Whom  does  he  resemble?"  asked  Gordon,  much 
amused  at  the  manner  in  which  Mr.  Brooks  surveyed  it. 
"  Not  his  mamma,  I  think.  Probably,  being  a  boy,  he  is 
more  like — " 

He  stopped  before  he  had  said  "  his  father,"  for  the 
pained  look  in  Margaret's  eyes  told  him  he  had  again 
trespassed  on  feelings  which  were  very  tender. 

"  I  don't  think  he  looks  like  anybody  yet,"  said  Mar- 
garet, in  a  musical  tone.  "He  looks  just  like  himself, 
that's  all." 

"  Which  is  quite  enough,"  interposed  Mrs.  Witham, 
in  a  bit  of  womanly  instinct.  "  He  is  the  very  best  baby 
I  ever  saw,"  she  added,  to  the  gentlemen. 

As  young  babies  are  best  off  in  the  quiet  of  their 


218  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

nurseries,  Mrs.  Taylor  soon  disappeared  with  this  one. 
When  she  returned  she  found  that  Messrs.  Brooks  and 
Hayne  were  about  to  depart,  and  only  waiting  to  bid 
farewell  to  her. 

She  gave  her  hand  to  both  gentlemen,  to  Mr,  Brooke 
first.  In  the  palm  was  a  piece  of  paper,  which,  with  the 
motion,  she  transferred  from  her  hand  to  his.  Usually 
slow  to  comprehend  secret  actions,  the  lawyer  had  suffi- 
cient presence  of  mind  to  retain  the  paper  without  re- 
vealing the  transaction  by  his  manner,  and  he  slipped 
it  into  his  coat  pocket  at  the  first  opportunity. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  leaving  his  companion,  he 
read  the  words  penciled  on  the  paper: 

*'  My  Dear  Sir:  You  are  a  solicitor,  and,  I  believe,  an 
honest  man.  I  wish  to  see  you  on  important  business, 
and  shall  try  to  come  to  your  office  within  a  few  days. 
Please  give  no  hint  of  this  to  any  one,  and  do  not  write 
to  me,  as  I  have  no  correspondents,  and  a  letter  would 
attract  attention.  Yours,  M.  T." 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 


CHAPTEE  XXin. 

A  FACE  IN  THE  ELEVATOR. 

Mr.  Brooks  read  this  letter  with  mingled  feelings.  He 
had  not  cared  to  question  Mr.  Hayne  as  to  the  manner 
in  which  the  latter  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  young 
mother,  nor  as  to  how  long  he  had  known  her.  It  was 
certainly  strange  enough  to  discover  her  in  the  party 
with  whom  he  had  heen  invited  to  dine,  when  detectives 
had  scoured  the  city,  and  Dale  had  wandered  for  nights 
together,  according  to  his  story,  in  a  fruitless  search. 
And  here  she  was,  not  only  in  a  pleasant  home,  instead 
of  starving  in  some  attic,  but  on  the  most  friendly 
terms  with  a  man  who  visited  very  often — much  too 
often,  Sidney  thought — at  Mr.  Dale's  residence. 

There  was  still  much  of  mystery  left.  Who  paid  the 
bills  which,  counting  her  recent  trial,  must  have  been 
substantial  ones?  If  Mr.  Hayne  did,  only  one  hypothesis 
could  be  entertained.  Gordon  was  not  noted  as  a 
philanthropist.  Money  did  not  leave  his  pocket  without 
expectation  of  reward  in  some  shape,  at  some  time. 

And  if  he  did  not  pay,  who  did?  Sidney  was  obliged 
to  acknowledge,  with  a  blush  for  his  sex,  that  his  indict- 
ment against  Hayne  would  lie  equally  against  most  men 
whom  he  knew,  under  similar  circumstances. 

Mr.  Brooks  meditated  a  good  while  over  the  case.  He 
took  a  deeper  interest  in  Kingdon  Dale  than  he  could 
quite  have  explained.  It  had  outraged  his  feelings  when 
the  young  husband  seemed  to  desire  to  be  put  in  com- 
munication with  a  former  paramour  on  the  first  week 


220  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

of  his  honeymoon.  Before  he  would  consent  to  aid  in 
locating  Mrs.  Taylor,  Brooks,  as  will  be  remembered,  had 
exacted  a  promise  that  the  only  use  of  any  information 
obtained  should  be  to  assist  her  in  material  comforts,  in 
the  event  of  her  being  in  need.  Now  he  had  seen  Mar- 
garet, and  found  that  she  was  not  in  want,  if  one  could 
judge  by  her  appearance.  He  wished  to  relieve  Dale  of 
all  thoughts  of  her,  for  until  this  was  accomplished  he 
could  never  have  tranquillity  of  mind.  But  if  Kingdon 
ever  discovered  that  she  was  living  in  the  companionship 
of  Gordon  Hayne,  what  would  happen? 

The  slow  brain  of  the  attorney  kept  at  work  on  the 
problem,  but  he  could  make  nothing  satisfactory  out 
of  it. 

The  first  fact  worth  knowing,  of  course,  was  whether 
Margaret  was  or  was  not  the  mistress  of  Mr.  Hayne. 
Secondly,  if  this  was  not  the  situation,  whose  mistress 
$he  was,  if  anybody's?  The  lawyer  read  over  again  the 
note  she  had  given  him,  stating  her  intention  of  calling 
within  a  few  days  at  his  office.  He  would  take  pains  to 
gee  her  there,  and  try  what  effect  his  inquiries  might 
have. 

Before  Margaret  came,  however,  Brooks  received  calls 
from  both  the  men  interested.  Gordon  laughed  lightly 
when  asked  to  talk  about  Mrs.  Taylor,  saying  that  he 
did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  discuss  a  lady  in  her  absence. 
To  an  insinuation  that  he  knew  more  than  he  would 
want  to  tell,  he  grew  sober,  and  averred  that  his  relations 
with  her  were  of  the  purest.  Then,  throwing  off  his  reti- 
cence, he  confided  the  tale  of  their  meeting  to  the  law- 
yer, and  the  terms  on  which  they  were  at  the  present 
time. 

"  What  is  to  be  the  end?"  asked  Sidney,  anxiously. 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  221 

"  Do  you  intend  to  go  on  forever,  paying  this  lady's  ex- 
penses and  demanding  no  recompense?" 

"  I  see  you  have  imbibed  the  popular  errors  about 
me/'  said  Gordon,  with  mock  seriousness.  "  Can't  I 
succor  a  young  woman  in  distress  and  see  her  through  a 
critical  period,  from  common  humanity,  as  you  could, 
for  instance?  Must  I  intend  to  rob  her  of  something  in 
return  for  the  loose  change  she  has  required?  I  am  sur- 
prised that  a  legal  mind  should  take  so  many  ugly  things 
for  granted,  when  it  cannot  back  them  up  by  the  slight- 
est evidence." 

"  There  is  the  proverb  about  the  smoke  and  the  fire," 
remarked  Brooks. 

"Yes,  but  there  are  people  who  see  a  great  deal  of 
smoke  where  there  is  none;  and  sometimes,  there  is 
smoke  from  a  fire  under  control,  a  fire  that  will  never 
break  loose." 

Mr.  Brooks  paused  to  digest  this  idea. 

"  You  believe  in  Mrs.  Taylor,  then?"  he  said.  "  She 
appears  to  you  an  honest,  truthful  woman?" 

Mr.  Hayne  looked  sharply  at  his  companion. 

"  You  speak  as  if  you  doubted  it,"  he  replied. 

"I?    I  haven't  had  your  opportunities  to  judge." 

"  Well,  to  give  you  a  straightforward  answer,"  said 
Hayne,  "  I  do  believe  in  her,  implicitly.  And  I  don't 
see  how  any  one  can  be  in  her  presence  five  minutes  and 
raise  such  a  question.  You  are  getting  to  be  a  mono- 
maniac, Sidney.  Why,  you  have  said  things  that  from 
any  one  else  I  should  consider  insulting  to — to  Mrs. 
Dale." 

The  lawyer  looked  up,  his  face  drawn  and  white. 

"  Never!"  he  cried,  faintly.  "The  things  I  said  were 
about  you,  not  her.  It  is  useless  to  deny  that  your  repu- 
tation is  bad;  we  might  as  well  be  plain.  I  only  gave 


228  THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND. 

you  a  warning  that  you  must  not  try  your  arts  on  the — 
the  wife  of  my  friend." 

His  voice  sank  almost  to  a  whisper  as  he  uttered  the 
concluding  words,  and  the  listener  saw  that  his  agita- 
tion was  of  no  common  order. 

u  All  that  you  say  and  think  on  that  subject  is  non- 
sense," said  Gordon.  "  And,  by  the  way,  I  did  not  sup- 
pose that  Dale  was  any  more  your  friend  than  he  is 
mine.  It  occurs  to  me  that  it  was  I  who  introduced  you 
to  him." 

"Yes,"  assented  Brooks,  absently.  He  was  looking 
again  across  the  parlor  at  Mrs.  Bruce's,  and  the  only 
thing  he  could  see  was  the  beautiful  daughter  in  her  robe 
of  white,  with  flowers  in  her  hair.  "  Yes,  it  was  you." 

Gordon  had  long  held  the  opinion  that  Brooks  was  a 
crank,  and  that  it  was  foolish  to  pay  too  much  attention 
to  some  of  his  notions.  But  he  wished  to  get  this  idea 
about  Ida  out  of  his  head  as  soon  as  possible.  He  did 
not  intend  to  let  anybody  get  between  him  and  a  prize 
he  coveted  as  he  did  that  one. 

When  Mr.  Hayne  had  gone  Mr.  Brooks  rearranged 
his  plans. 

"  I  have  obtained  information  of  the  lady  you  asked 
me  to  help  you  find,"  he  said  bluntly,  the  next  time  Dale 
entered  his  office. 

'•'Where  is  she?"  cried  the  other,  clasping  his  hands 
together.  "  Oh,  tell  me,  tell  me!" 

The  lawyer  realized  to  the  full  the  strength  of  the 
emotion  that  confronted  him. 

"  I  did  not  agree  to  do  that,"  he  replied,  slowly.  "  I 
only  promised  to  see  if  she  needed  your  assistance:  and 
I  have  discovered  that  she  does  not." 

Dale's  strained  attitude  gave  way  to  something  like 
a  collapse. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  923 

"Must  I  fear  the  worst?"  he  asked,  guttnrally.  "Is 
she  leading  a  life  of  infamy?" 

"No.  She  has  found  friends — strong  friends — and 
from  all  I  can  learn  is  in  no  present  danger." 

"Ah!"  cried  Dale,  with  a  great  sigh  of  relief.  " Tell 
me  who  they  are,  that  I  may  seek  them,  repay  them  and 
thank  them  on  my  knees!" 

Brooks  looked  at  the  speaker  with  the  strongest  signs 
of  displeasure. 

"  You  have  no  right  to  thank  them — no  right  to  do 
anything  about  it,"  he  said,  vehemently.  "You  are 
married,  to  a  pure,  beautiful,  charming  woman,  and 
your  every  thought  should  be  given  to  her.  This  ac- 
quaintance with  Mrs.  Taylor,  or  Miss  Rivers,  or  whatever 
you  choose  to  call  her,  was  a  disreputable  episode  in 
your  career,  and  the  sooner  it  is  forgotten  the  better!" 

Dale  was  clearly  staggered,  but  he  rose  to  the  emer- 
gency. 

"  There  are  men,"  he  replied,  with  deep  feeling,  "  who 
would  consider  your  remarks  sufficiently  insulting  to 
demand  their  retraction  or  cease  all  intercourse  with 
you.  But  to  me  this  matter  is  too  important  to  be  treat- 
ed in  an  ordinary  way.  My  intercourse  with  Margaret 
Elvers  is  the  holiest  thing  I  can  look  back  upon  in  my 
entire  life.  I  loved  her — I  still  love  her — with  all  the 
powers  of  my  being.  The  marriage  into  which  I  was 
cajoled  is  the  thing  of  which  I  am  ashamed.  The  one 
act  was  at  least  honest,  a  true  expression  of  the  ten- 
derest  chords  in  my  heart;  the  other  is  a  lie  from  be- 
ginning to  end,  and  can  only  result  in  eternal  injury, 
both  to  me  and  an  unhappy  woman.  You  cannot  make 
a  marriage  sacred  which  is  entered  upon  as  that  was. 
Let  me  tell  you,  Sidney  Brooks,  that  no  sophistries  will 
influence  me  in  this  affair.  If  there  is  a  doubt  as  to  my 


224  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

duty  to  provide  for  any  woman,  it  is  against  Ida.  For 
I  had  the  true,  sincere  love  of  Margaret  before  that 
senseless  ceremony  in  which  two  liars  perjured  them- 
selves to  please  their  elders!" 

The  lawyer  shrank  before  the  impetuosity  of  his  com- 
panion. The  earnestness  of  Dale  was  altogether  ap- 
parent. Brooks  had  never  realized  till  to-day  the  full 
force  of  the  passion  that  bound  him. 

"  But,"  he  stammered,  "  surely  you  were  not  both  per- 
jurers. Surely  Ida  was  honest  in  declaring  before  God 
and  man  her  love  for  you." 

Dale  shook  his  head. 

"No.  I  had  told  her  explicitly  that  I  never  could, 
never  should  love  her.  No  woman's  affection  could  sur- 
vive the  language  I  used.  It  was  a  desire  to  gratify  her 
mother  that  forced  her  on,  and  the  false  pride  of  fearing 
to  announce  to  the  world  that  her  engagement  had  been 
broken." 

Brooks  shook  with  the  trepidation  he  was  trying  to 
conceal. 

"  Poor  girl!"  he  exclaimed,  speaking  his  thoughts  un- 
consciously aloud. 

"  I  agree  with  you,"  was  the  reply.  "  Her  condition 
is,  indeed,  most  deplorable.  But  she  would  still  hesitate 
to  take  the  only  step  that  could  better  it,  that  of  asking 
the  law  to  untie  the  bonds  that  will  gall  her  deeper  and 
deeper  as  each  year  of  her  life  comes  and  goes.  We  have 
made  the  most  frightful  mistake  of  which  human  beings 
are  capable." 

The  lawyer  was  mute.  The  suggestion  of  divorce  was 
too  much  for  him. 

"  Tell  me  more  of  Margaret,"  pleaded  Kingdon.  "  Is 
ghc  well?  Is  she  happy?  Does  she  know  that  I  am  here 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  225 

in  Boston — that  I  am  married?    What  are  her  feelings 
toward  me?" 

"I  do  not  know  why  I  should  answer,"  responded 
Brooks,  stiffly.  "  You  wanted  to  make  sure  that  she  was 
not  suffering  for  food,  clothing  and  shelter.  I  can  as- 
sure you  on  those  points.  She  does  know  that  you  are 
married,  and,  by  your  own  story,  she  would  not  wish  you 
to  desert  and  betray  your  bride.  I  am  sure  that  Miss 
Rivers  would  only  escape  you  again  if  you  discovered  her 
whereabouts  and  forced  yourself  upon  her." 

The  deepest  pain  showed  itself  upon  Kingdon  Dale's 
brow. 

"  I  see  you  do  not  yet  understand  me,"  he  said.  "  Lit- 
tle as  I  revere  the  marriage  bond  that  was  secured  in 
fraud,  I  shall  be  true  to  Ida  until  some  power  severs 
us.  I  shall  either  be  again  the  husband  of  Margaret 
Rivers,  or  I  shall  never  know  the  love  of  woman.  I 
am  in  fair  health.  I  am  likely  to  live  forty  years,  for 
all  you  can  tell.  Would  you  condemn  me  to  a  solitary 
existence  when  there  is  one  who  loves  me  and  whom  I 
love?  You  know  where  this  woman  is.  By  what  canon 
of  justice  would  you  keep  us  apart?" 

The  thoughts  of  the  attorney  were  wandering  to  the 
parlor  at  Mrs.  Witham's,  where  a  young  mother  was 
exhibiting  her  babe  with  maternal  pride.  If  it  was  this 
man's  babe  there  might  be  reason  in  what  he  said.  And 
yet  the  difficulties  of  his  position  were  great. 

"  I  must  think  of  this,"  he  said,  slowly.  "  There  are 
many  things  to  consider.  I  will  think  of  it,  candidly  and 
honestly,  and  let  you  know  within  a  few  days." 

Dale  drew  a  long  breath. 

"  A  few  hours  would  be  torture,"  he  answered.  "  A 
few  minutes  would  seem  too  long.  A  few  days  are  an 


226  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

eternity.  But  I  have  no  choice.  I  cannot  compel  you  to 
divulge  the  secret.  I  can  only  await  your  pleasure." 

"  I  am  placed  in  a  position  from  which  I  would  rather 
have  escaped,"  said  Brooks,  after  another  pause.  "  An 
accident  has  made  me  the  custodian  of  the  secrets  of  sev- 
eral persons.  It  is  my  duty  to  act  in  the  manner  which 
I  believe,  on  reflection,  is  most  just.'' 

As  Kingdon  knew,  from  a  thorough  acquaintance 
with  the  speaker,  that  it  would  be  idle  to  attempt  to  in- 
fluence him,  he  said  no  more,  but  left  the  office  with  the 
understanding  that  he  would  learn  by  mail  when  he  was 
again  wanted. 

There  was  an  elevator  in  the  building,  but  as  he  was 
but  two  flights  above  the  street,  Kingdon  started  to  walk 
down.  The  stairway  circled  about  the  elevator  well, 
and  as  the  lift  was  made  of  wrought  iron  he  could  easily 
see  the  persons  inside  as  they  passed  him.  What  made 
him  look  into  the  interior  is  not  clear,  as  it  was  some- 
thing he  was  not  in  the  habit  of  doing,  but  in  making  a 
turn  in  the  stairway  he  glanced  at  the  car  moving  rapid- 
ly upward,  and  saw  a  face  that  made  him  pause. 

Margaret  Rivers  was  in  that  car! 

The  elevator  stopped  at  the  floor  above.  As  she  was 
the  only  occupant  it  was  tolerably  probable  that  she  had 
alighted  there.  The  lift  began  to  descend,  and  as  it  re- 
passed  him  Kingdon  saw  that  it  was  empty,  except  for 
the  boy  who  guided  it. 

Margaret  had  alighted  on  the  floor  of  Sidney  Brooks' 
office. 

Without  doubt  she  had  come  to  see  him! 

Mr.  Dale's  brain  seethed  with  its  thoughts.  For  the 
next  few  moments  there  was  no  possibility  connected 
with  this  case  that  did  not  find  an  entrance  to  his  brain. 

The  conviction  that  Brooks  was  playing  him  false 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  227 

gradually  drove  out  all  others  anfi  usurped  their  place. 
Possessed  with  the  information  that  Margaret  had  al- 
lowed one  lover  to  he  familiar  with  her,  having  her  name 
and  description  for  identification,  Brooks  had  used  these 
things  for  his  own  benefit!  The  intense  interest  which 
he  had  shown  in  the  story,  the  emotion  he  had  several 
times  displayed,  returned  to  the  mind  of  Mr.  Dale  with 
full  force.  And  here  was  Margaret  visiting  him  at  his 
office,  with  which  she  seemed  familiac  The  agonized 
man  sat  down  upon  the  stairs,  too  weak  to  stand. 

There  was  no  honesty  in  men,  where  women  were  con- 
cerned— he  had  helieved  that  for  a  very  long  time.  Brooks 
had  been  over-anxious  that  Kingdon  should  remain  true 
to  his  wife.  He  had  shown  trepidation  when  told  how 
slender  a  thread  bound  her  to  her  husband.  He  knew 
all  about  the  present  life  of  Miss  Eivers,  who  was,  to  use 
his  expression,  in  the  hands  of  "friends — of  strong- 
friends."  It  was  practically  certain,  thought  the  half- 
crazed  man,  that  the  friends  alluded  to  were  simply  and 
solely  the  lawyer  himself. 

There  is  nothing  so  unreasoning  as  Jealousy.  The 
mind  is  clouded  from  the  moment  a  dark  suspicion  takes 
root  there. 

Kingdon  did  not  feel  able  to  climb  the  stairs  to  the 
floor  above.  He  thought  it  wiser  to  descend  to  the  next 
landing  and  take  the  elevator  back.  Creeping  slowly 
downward,  he  reached  his  destination  after  the  lapse  of 
several  minutes,  and  when  he  had  entered  the  ascending 
car  he  heard  his  name  spoken  by  a  familiar  voice. 

Gordon  Hayne  was  at  his  side.  They  alighted  at  the 
same  landing,  that  at  which  Miss  Eivers  had  left  the 
car. 

"  I  guess  we're  bound  to  the  same  place,"  said  Hayne, 
cheerily.  "  I'm  going  to  call  on  Brooks." 


228  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

Then  he  noticed  for  the  first  time  the  distrait  appear- 
ance of  his  friend,  and  asked  the  cause. 

"  Why,  you're  not  looking  right!"  he  said.  "  What 
under  Heaven  is  the  matter?" 

After  several  ineffectual  attempts  to  speak,  Dale  man- 
aged to  say  that  he  had  just  experienced  a  dizzy  feeling, 
which  had  nearly  overcome  him. 

"  I  should  say  so !"  replied  Gordon.  "  Why,  you  look 
almost  as  badly  as  you  did  that  evening  in  New  York! 
Lean  on  me,  and  I'll  help  you  into  Sidney's  office,  where 
you  can  lie  down  on  a  sofa." 

Hesitating  at  first,  lest  he  could  not  bear  the  shock  of 
seeing  his  darling  and  his  false  friend  together,  Mr. 
Dale  at  last  consented.  It  would  be  some  comfort,  he 
thought,  to  exhibit  to  his  lost  love  the  state  into  which 
her  conduct  had  thrown  him.  As  to  intending  harm  to 
either  of  them,  that  did  not  enter  his  head.  He  was 
simply  crushed  and  weak. 

Brooks  opened  the  door  in  person,  and  grew  deathly 
white  as  he  saw  his  visitors. 

"  Here;  not  that  way!"  he  exclaimed,  motioning  them 
toward  his  public  office  instead  of  the  private  room  in 
which  Gordon  remembered  that  a  sofa  was  located. 

"  He  is  ill  and  faint,"  replied  Hayne,  "  and  must  lie 
down." 

Too  confused  to  resist  longer,  the  lawyer  made  way 
for  the  pair,  and  an  instant  later  they  stood  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Miss  Rivers. 

Much  can  be  done  in  a  fraction  of  a  second.  Margaret 
saw  the  telegraphic  message  in  the  eyes  of  Mr.  Hayne, 
which  said  as  plainly  as  words,  "  Do  not  recognize  me!" 

"  My  friend  has  been  taken  suddenly  ill,"  said  Gor- 
don, aloud,  "  and  I  advised  him  to  come  in  here  and  lie 


THEIR   MARRIAGE    BOND.  229 

down.  The  lady  will  excuse  us,  I  know,  for  intruding, 
under  the  circumstances." 

Margaret  bowed.  She  could  not  have  spoken  had  she 
tried.  Her  body  seemed  petrified.  Hayne  thought  she 
was  doing  wonderfully  well.  He  did  not  want  Kingdon 
to  get  an  idea  that  he  had  ever  met  this  lady  before. 
Visiting  so  often  at  Mr.  Dale's  house,  it  would  not  be  ad- 
visable for  suspicions  of  this  nature  to  find  verification 
in  the  mind  of  the  merchant. 

Mr.  Brooks  felt  that  they  were  all  standing  on  the 
edge  of  a  volcano. 

Dale  submitted  to  being  placed  on  the  sofa,  and  drank 
from  a  glass  of  cold  water  which  was  brought  to  him. 
Following  the  mere  instincts  of  her  nature,  Margaret 
took  her  handkerchief,  wet  it  in  the  liquid  and  wiped  his 
forehead  tenderly. 

"  Perhaps  it  will  be  best  to  leave  him  somewhat 
alone,"  whispered  the  lawyer  to  Gordon,  after  a  few  mo- 
ments, during  which  no  one  broke  the  silence.  "  We  are 
going  out  into  the  other  office,"  he  added,  in  an  equally 
low  voice,  to  Miss  Rivers.  "You  will  stay  a  little 
while?"  he  concluded,  interrogatively. 

She  answered  by  a  slight  inclination  of  her  head,  al- 
ready bent  above  the  sick  man.  The  others  then  left  the 
room. 

"  I  will  explain  her  presence  here  to  your  satisfaction 
at  another  time,"  said  Brooks,  in  response  to  the  ques- 
tion that  beamed  in  his  companion's  face.  "  She  ar- 
rived a  few  moments  ago,  and  will  not,  I  think,  care  to 
remain  much  longer." 

Hayne  nodded  to  show  that  he  had  nothing  to  say. 
He  was  capable  of  jealousy,  too,  but  not  of  women  with 
whom  he  had  never  been  in  love.  And,  besides,  he  held 


230  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

an  opinion  of  Brooks  that  precluded  suspicion  in  such  a 
case  as  this. 

"  I  had  nothing  special  to  come  up  for,"  he  said,  "  and 
I  think  I'll  have  to  go.  You'll  see  to  sending  Dale 
home  in  a  carriage,  of  course.  He's  getting  too  many 
of  these  attacks.  He'll  have  to  be  more  careful." 

The  couple  left  alone  in  the  private  room  remained'as 
they  had  been.  Margaret  continued  to  bathe  Kingdon's 
forehead,  while  his  only  action  was  to  take  her  disen- 
gaged hand  in  his  and  press  it  to  his  lips. 

True  or  untrue,  he  loved  her!  He  could  not  blame 
her,  whatever  had  happened.  He  only  wished  that  he 
might  die,  then  and  there,  with  her  hand  in  his  and  her 
soft  touch  upon  his  forehead. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  231 

CHAPTEE  XXIV. 

IN  THE  LAWYER'S  OFFICE. 

The  great  problem  still  bore  heavily  upon  Sidney 
Brooks'  mind:  Was  it  best  to  hold  Dale  to  the  marriage 
whose  terms  were  so  galling,  whose  results  must  be  so 
painful  to  him,  and  to  his  wife?  Kingdon's  deep  love 
for  Margaret  had  shone  forth  in  all  its  luminosity. 
Three-fourths  of  a  year  had  failed  to  change  him  in  any 
respect. 

If  Brooks  could  only  hear  what  Ida  had  to  say — could 
understand  the  real  condition  of  her  mind — it  would  be 
easier  to  decide.  And  then  there  was  another  to  be 
reckoned  with — Mrs.  Bruce.  It  was  not  likely  that  she 
would  consent  to  such  a  scandal  as  a  judicial  separation 
of  her  daughter  from  the  man  she  had  been  at  such  pains 
to  gain. 

Until  something  definite  was  decided  upon,  it  was 
clear  that  the  couple  he  had  left  in  his  private  room 
ought  not  to  be  too  long  together.  Five  minutes  after 
Hayne  left  the  office,  Brooks  knocked  gently  on  the 
inner  doorj  and,  opening  it,  entered. 

Mr.  Dale  lay  where  he  had  left  him,  and  Miss  Rivers 
had  not  changed  her  position.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  not  a 
word  had  been  exchanged  between  them. 

"  Are  you  feeling  better?"  asked  the  lawyer  of  the 
prostrate  man. 

"Much  better,"  was  the  reply,  and  in  proof  of  the 
statement,  Kingdon  rose  to  a  sitting  posture.  "  Sidney, 
there  is  no  use  in  concealing  anything  from  you.  This 
is  the  woman  whose  husband  I  should  have  been." 


232  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

Margaret  started  at  the  assertion,  but,  remembering 
that  Mr.  Brooks  had  had  ample  opportunity  for  knowing 
all  this  implied  to  be  true,  she  made  no  reply. 

"  I  have  told  you,  many  times,"  continued  Mr.  Dale, 
still  addressing  Mr.  Brooks,  "  that  there  was  one  plain 
duty  which  I  hoped  to  perform.  I  owe  this  woman  a 
support.  Nothing  can  be  more  certain  than  that.  There 
are  things  about  which  she  and  I  have  differed,  but  I 
will  leave  it  to  you,  as  a  fair-minded  man,  if  there  is  any 
question  about  this  one." 

Then  Margaret's  voice  was  heard. 

"May  I  go  out  with  Mr.  Brooks  and  speak  to  him 
alone  for  a  moment?"  she  asked. 

"  Certainly.  But  please  don't  run  away  from  me  this 
time.  I  shall  not  try  to  control  your  movements,  but 
there  are  things  that  must  be  settled;  we  shall  never  find 
a  better  opportunity." 

She  bowed  acquiescence  to  this  proposition,  and  quiet- 
ly withdrew  in  company  with  the  lawyer. 

"You  have  told  him — what?"  she  asked,  when  the 
door  was  closed. 

"  Only  that  I  had  seen  you,  and  that  you  were  ap- 
parently not  in  need." 

"Nothing  about  Mr.  Hayne?" 

He  shook  his  head. 

"  And — the  baby;  does  he  know?" 

"  Not  from  me.    I  believe  he  is  ignorant  of  it." 

She  looked  him  earnestly  in  the  face. 

"  I  do  not  wish  him  to  know,"  she  said.  "  It  would 
be  harder  to  convince  him  that  our  relations  should  be 
ended  forever." 

"  I  will  not  tell  him,"  said  Brooks. 

"  Thank  you.  I  came  here  to-day  to  see  if  you  could 
think  of  any  way  I  could  earn  my  living.  I  have  ac- 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  233 

cepted  too  much  aid  from  Mr.  Hayne  He  has  acted  the 
part  of  a  gentleman  to  me,  but  I  have  a  feeling  of 
degradation  in  allowing  one  upon  whom  I  have  no  claim 
to  do  so  much.  I  am  very  well  now,  and  willing  to  do 
anything  honorable  rather  than  eat  the  bread  of  depend- 
ence. Yes,  Mr.  Brooks,  whatever  you  know  of  my  past, 
whatever  you  may  guess  in  relation  to  it,  I  want  the  rest 
of  my  life  to  be  untarnished,  if  that  can  be  accom- 
plished." 

He  relapsed  into  one  of  his  brown  studies. 

"Will  you  answer  me  a  few  questions?"  he  asked, 
finally. 

"Anything." 

"  Were  you  an  innocent  girl  when  you  met  Mr.  Dale?" 

"  As  innocent  as  a  child." 

"  How  could  you  relinquish  such  a  man?"  asked  he. 

"  Because  I  could  not  rob  another  woman.  Because  I 
felt  what  it  would  be  to  me  if  I  had  had  his  promise  of 
marriage  and  she  had  stolen  him  away!  I  never  killed 
even  a  fly,  but  I  would  follow  such  a  woman  to  the  end 
of  the  earth  and  drive  a  knife  into  her  bosom!" 

He  shivered,  for  he  knew  she  would  do  what  she  said. 

"You  have  not  changed  your  mind?"  said  he,  inter- 
rogatively. "  To-day  if  he  would  leave  her  for  you — " 

"  I  would  not  permit  it." 

"  Or,  if  he  were  free?" 

"  If  she  were  dead,  perhaps  I  might  find  some  excuse, 
for  my  love  can  never  change,  no  matter  how  many 
years  intervene." 

He  fixed  another  of  his  penetrating  glances  on  her. 

"  Mr.  Dale  has  a  right  to  aid  in  your  support,"  he  said, 
then.  "  He  has  the  right,  and  Gordon  Hayne  has  none. 
As  an  attorney  I  advise  you  to  accept  what  you  need 


23 1-  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

hereafter  from  the  father  of  your  child.  It  is  the  best 
thing  for  you — and  for  him." 

Margaret  struggled  a  moment  with  the  proposition. 

"  But  I  cannot  continue    to    meet   him,"  she  said. 

"  No,"  was  the  reply,  "  you  will  not  need  to  meet  him. 
If  you  both  wish  it,  I  will  be  your  intermediary.  He 
may  leave  the  money  with  me,  and  I  will  give  it  to  you." 

Mr.  Dale  was  very  uneasy  during  the  absence  of  the 
pair,  and  when  they  returned  he  looked  inquiringly  from 
one  to  the  other.  Slowly  and  carefully  Mr.  Brooks  told 
of  the  decision  at  which  he  had  arrived.  If  Mr.  Dale 
wished  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  Miss  Rivers,  he 
would  be  the  means  by  which  the  money  was  given  to 
her. 

At  first  Kingdon  raved.  Was  he  a  dangerous  animal, 
he  asked,  to  be  held  at  arms'  length  by  a  woman  who 
had  sworn  that  she  loved  him?  What  harm  could  result 
if  he  met  Margaret  once  or  twice  a  month  and  put  the 
sum  he  would  give  her  into  her  own  hands? 

But  gradually  he  grew  calmer.  It  was  something  to 
know  that  she  was  safe,  that  neither  the  stifling  factory 
nor  the  street  could  claim  her.  And  at  last  he  consent- 
ed. It  was  better  than  nothing,  for  the  present. 

"  I  don't  want  to  be  idle,  as  I  told  you  when  I  agreed 
to  come  to  America,"  said  Margaret.  "  There  are  plenty 
of  ways  in  which  I  could  earn  almost  enough  to  exist  on. 
If  Mr.  Brooks  would  try  to  find  me  a  situation — " 

"  You  forget,"  interrupted  the  lawyer,  with  the  child 
in  his  mind,  and  then,  perceiving  that  he  was  upon 
forbidden  ground,  stopped  short. 

"  It  can  be  done,"  said  Mr.  Dale.  "  There  is  a  vacancy 
at  this  moment  in  my  counting-room;  but  I  suppose  that 
is  the  last  place  you  would  like  to  accept,"  he  added,  re- 
gretfully. 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND.  235 

"  It  is  the  last  place  she  should  accept,"  said  the  law- 
yer, gravely.  "  I  will  undertake  to  secure  her  a  situation 
as  soon  as — as  soon  as  it  is  expedient.  I  do  not  think," 
he  continued,  thoughtfully,  "that  there  is  anything 
more  we  can  accomplish  to-day." 

He  rose,  and  there  was  a  strong  hint  to  his  callers  that 
It  was  time  to  go. 

"You'll  see  me  sometimes,  Margaret?"  pleaded  Mr. 
Dale,  leaning  toward  her.  "  There  is  no  reason  why  we 
should  he  enemies." 

She  put  her  arms  about  his  neck  hefore  the  attorney 
and  kissed  him  gently  on  the  forehead.  The  action  was 
spasmodic,  and  not  even  Mr.  Brooks  had  the  heart  to 
protest  against  it.  Then  Miss  Rivers  accompanied  the 
lawyer  to  the  elevator  and  descended,  as  he  intended  she 
should  do,  first.  He  did  not  know  but  Mr.  Dale,  in  his 
excited  mood,  might  follow  her. 

"  Stay  where  you  are  for  a  few  days,"  he  said,  as  he 
left  her.  "  Then  come  and  see  me  again.  But  be  very 
careful  that  Mr.  Hayne  does  not  know  you  come  a  sec- 
ond time.  He  might  grow  suspicious  and  make  trouble. 
A.nd  keep  your  secrets,  my  child.  If  he  should  learn 
that  your  story  about  Mr.  Taylor  and  his  death  at  sea 
were  untrue,  there's  no  telling  what  turn  his  mind 
might  take." 

He  was  not  thirty  years  of  age,  but  he  seemed  so  much 
her  elder  that  the  expression,  "My  child,"  touched  her 
deeply. 

"  How  can  I  thank  you  for  your  kindness?3'  she  ex- 
claimed. "  You  could  not  have  used  me  better  if  I  were 
a  rich  and  powerful  client." 

"  Hush!"  he  said.    "  Remember,  be  careful!" 

When  he  reached  his  office  again  he  found  Mr.  Dale 


236  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

standing  before  a  mirror,  arranging  his  hair,  which  had 
been  rumpled. 

"  I  am  calm,"  said  he.  "  I  have  suffered  so  much  al- 
ready that  I  think  I  have  learned  to  bear  anything. 
Now,  for  Margaret's  support,  do  what  you  think  right 
and  tell  me  the  amount  you  expend.  I  have  nothing  to 
rely  on  but  the  income  of  my  business,  but  I  would 
sooner  live  on  one  meal  a  day  than  have  her  depend  on 
charity." 

He  took  his  departure  with  only  a  few  more  words,  for 
there  was  nothing  to  be  gained  by  much  speaking. 
When  he  was  gone  the  lawyer  locked  his  doors,  to  in- 
dicate that  he  had  departed  for  the  day,  and  sat  by  the 
drawn  window  curtains  studying  out  the  puzzling 
problem. 

"  I  shall  have  to  know  his  wife  better  before  I  can  tell 
just  what  is  best,"  he  murmured,  at  the  end  of  an  hour. 
"If  she  is  contented  to  lead  the  life  of  a  maid  while 
wearing  the  livery  of  a  matron,  that  is  one  thing.  If,  on 
the  contrary,  her  position  galls  and  frets  her;  if  she  is 
dissatisfied  and  in  distress,  that  is  another.  Dale  is  fear- 
fully enamored  of  this  English  girl.  Should  he  by  any 
mischance  learn  of  the  child  it  would  be  hard  to  hold 
him. 

"  I  must  see  the  wife — I  must  see  the  wife,"  he  repeat- 
ed, with  conviction. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND  237 


CHAPTEE  XXV. 

"IT'S  NOT  A  CASE  OF  LOVE." 

It  had  been  a  long  time  since  Gordon  Hayne  "began 
his  task  of  winning  the  young  wife  of  Kingdon  Dale 
from  her  marital  allegiance.  His  method  was  one  which 
he  called  "  slow  hut  sure." 

He  had  resolved  to  win  Ida  long  hef  ore  her  marriage 
day  was  set,  and,  from  all  that  he  could  judge,  his 
chances  of  success  had  never  been  better.  While  not 
dreaming  of  the  extent  to  which  she  lived  apart  from  her 
husband,  he  knew  that  they  were  far,from  the  condition 
of  lovers. 

Hayne  had  reason  to  believe  that  Ida  liked  him.  He 
had  done  her,  in  the  matter  of  the  mortgage,  a  very 
great  service.  She  had  come  to  regard  him  in  a  most  fa- 
vorable light. 

Mrs.  Walden  Bruce  did  not  cut  so  much  of  a  figure  in 
these  days  as  she  would  once  have  done.  She  was 
crushed  by  the  troubles  that  had  come  upon  her,  and 
lived  an  absolutely  quiet  life  in  Newton,  giving  up  the 
receptions  she  had  held  for  so  long,  even  declining  all 
invitations  sent  by  her  large  circle  of  friends.  The  un- 
happiness  of  the  marriage  she  had  so  eagerly  sought  for 
her  daughter  was  painfully  apparent  to  her.  Ida  would 
not  speak  of  it,  avoiding  skillfully  every  reference  to  the 
subject,  but  the  maternal  instinct  was  too  strong  to  be 
deceived. 

She  had  compelled  her  child  to  marry  a  man  of  the 
most  moderate  means,  when  a  match  with  a  millionaire 


238  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

could  have  been  just  as  easily  arranged.  A  millionaire, 
too,  who  still  felt  the  blow,  and  who  would  never,  she 
was  sure,  recover  from  it.  People  might  hint  that  the 
morals  of  Mr.  Hayne  were  not  what  they  should  be. 
Mrs.  Bruce  had  never  heard  an  improper  word  from  his 
lips.  She  knew  that  Ida  could  be  trusted  anywhere.  If 
Gordon  was  permitted  to  call  upon  her  still,  it  was  a 
positive  proof  to  the  elder  lady  that  his  conduct  was  un- 
exceptionable. She  had  brought  her  daughter  up  to 
know  right  from  wrong,  at  least. 

So  Gordon  continued  to  visit  the  Dales,  both  when 
Kingdon  was  at  home  and  when  he  was  absent.  Some- 
times Mrs.  Bruce  met  him  there,  and  always  treated  him 
with  the  same  profound  respect  that  he  was  at  pains  to 
show  to  her.  She  not  only  entertained  no  suspicions — 
she  cordially  approved  of  Ida's  intimacy  with  him. 
There  were  possibilities  to  be  considered;  in  case  any- 
thing should  happen  to  Kingdon,  what  more  eligible 
opportunity  for  Ida  to  remarry  than  with  this  rich  and 
agreeable  gentleman.  Although  her  plans  had  gone  so 
badly,  Mrs.  Bruce  could  not  help  studying  new  ones  and 
thinking  of  contingencies. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  May  that  Mr.  Hayne  began  to 
consider  it  time  to  bring  his  campaign  to  closer  quar- 
ters. It  is  well  said  by  the  poet: 

ID  the  spring  the  young  man's  fancy 
Lightly  turns  to  thoughts  of  love. 

Mr.  Dale  had  gone  to  New  York  for  a  day  or  two  on 
business.  Mrs.  Bruce  was  confined  to  her  Newton  home 
with  a  slight  cold.  Gordon  had  the  prospect  of  a  clear 
field  for  the  number  of  hours  he  was  likely  to  need. 

He  called  in  the  morning,  but  only  for  a  few  minutes. 
Be  had  been  invited  to  dinner  for  that  day,  partly  on 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  239 

Kingdon's  suggestion,  just  before  the  husband  went 
away. 

"  Come  in  and  dine  with  Ida,  if  you  can/'  he  had 
said.  "  Don't  neglect  the  house,  just  because  I  happen 
to  be  out  of  it." 

The  lips  and  eyes  of  the  young  wife  had  cordially  sec- 
onded the  invitation,  and  Gordon  had  responded  that  he 
would  try — that  he  believed  it  would  be  convenient. 
He  reflected  that  a  better  opportunity  could  hardly  come 
to  him. 

Ida  served  the  dinner  mainly  with  her  own  hands — 
she  had  but  one  servant — but  this  only  added  to  its 
charm;  he  wanted  to  be  alone  with  her  as  much  as  pos- 
sible. When  they  left  the  table  he  knew  that  they 
would  in  all  probability  be  undisturbed,  and  he  sat  down 
in  the  little  parlor  with  a  feeling  that  the  curtain  was 
about  to  rise  on  the  first  act  of  the  long-deferred  drama. 

He  had  no  definite  plan,  but  kept  himself  ready  for 
any  move  that  circumstances  might  make  feasible. 

"You  are  dull  to-night;  what  is  the  matter?"  she 
said  to  him,  when  he  had  waited  for  her  to  break  the 
silence. 

"How  can  I  help  being  dull?"  he  exclaimed,  with  a 
trace  of  bitterness.  "  What  is  there  to  make  me  gay?" 

"  That  is  hardly  a  compliment  to  my  company,"  she 
responded,  trying  to  laugh  off  his  mood. 

"  Perhaps  it  is,"  he  answered,  meaningly.  "  But  let 
us  not  talk  about  that.  I  may  say  things  I  shall  be  sorry 
for." 

"  Sometimes  it  is  best  to  say  what  one  has  in  mind," 
she  replied,  thoughtfully. 

He  roused  himself. 

"Do  you  tell  me  to  say  it — will  you  permit  me?"  ht 


240  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

asked,  leaning  toward  her.  "  But,  no!  I  cannot,  I  dare 
not!" 

She  extended  a  hand  in  his  direction,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  calming  him.  He  took  it  in  his  own  and  pressed 
it  gently,  respectfully,  reverently,  to  his  cheek.  Then 
he  arose,  took  a  few  steps,  returned  and  sat  by  her  side 
on  the  sofa  she  was  occupying. 

"  Ida,"  he  said,  impetuously,  "  there  is  a  punishment 
that  falls  with  terrible  force  on  the  head  of  a  man  who 
has  neglected  his  opportunities.  Once  I  loved  a  girl 
with  all  my  soul!  I  love  her  yet;  I  always  shall  love  her. 
I  think  sometimes  that  if  I  had  had  the  courage  at  the 
right  moment  that  girl  might  now  be  my  wife!  I  be- 
lieved I  had  no  right  to  speak  the  words  that  burned  in 
my  bosom,  and  I  waited  until  it  was  too  late.  Now  I 
can  only  torment  myself  with  the  reflection  of  my  folly, 
and  fear  that,  after  all,  she  is  not  the  happy  wife  my 
sacrifice  was  intended  to  make  her.  Do  you  wonder 
that  I  am  dull?  It  is  a  marvel  that  I  have  preserved  my 
reason." 

Mrs.  Dale  colored  highly  as  she  listened.  She  could 
not  misunderstand  the  allusion. 

'*'  I  believed  it  my  duty,"  she  said,  firmly,  "  to  obey 
the  injunctions  of  my  mother." 

She  did  not  possess  his  power  to  speak  in  riddles. 
What  she  had  to  say  must  be  without  equivocation. 

"  And  she  insisted  on  joining  you  to  a  man  you  did 
not  love,"  he  exclaimed,  "  because  a  few  miserable  acres 
of  land  lay  side  by  side.  For  you  do  not  love  him,  Idal 
I  have  watched  you,  and  I  know  you  do  not  love  him  as  a 
wife  should  love  a  husband." 

Her  thoughts  were  very  deep  at  that  moment.  It  was 
her  first  direct  opportunity  to  unbosom  herself  to  a  real 
friend. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE   BOND. 

"  No,"  she  said,  soberly,  "  I  do  not  love  him.  There  is 
no  deceit  between  us.  He  does  not  care  for  me,  either. 
We  talked  it  over  before  the  wedding  day.  He  had  his 
father  to  please." 

He  rose,  and,  walking  to  the  rear  of  the  sofa,  leaned 
over  her. 

"Poor  girl!"  he  exclaimed,  with  tears  in  his  voice. 
"  Poor  girl!" 

She  allowed  him  to  stroke  her  hair,  which  he  took 
pains  to  cease  doing  of  his  own  accord. 

"  Tell  me  one  thing,"  he  asked,  drawing  a  long 
breath.  "  It  can  do  no  harm,  now  that  the  truth  is  be- 
ing told.  Would  you  have  married  me  if  I  had  dared 
to  ask  you?" 

"  I  think  I  would  have  married  any  man  my  mother 
directed." 

"  Even  though  you  were  in  love  with  another?" 

She  nodded,  and  a  tear  rolled  down  her  cheek.  He 
felt  a  fierce  longing  to  press  his  lips  upon  the  tiny  drop, 
but  he  resisted.  It  was  not  a  time  to  risk  all  by  one 
premature  movement.  He  took  his  silk  handkerchief, 
instead,  and  touched  it  lightly  to  her  eyes. 

"  Do  you  think  a  contract  entered  into  in  such  a  man- 
ner is  binding,  even  if  it  wrecks  two  lives?"  he  asked. 
slowly,  and  with  a  tremble  in  his  voice. 

"  There  is  no  escape,"  she  replied,  with  a  gasp.  "  My 
mother  is  still  living.  My  husband  gives  no  indication 
of  a  willingness  to  release  me.  It  is  idle  to  indulge  in 
fancies." 

He  drew  a  chair  close  to  her,  and  threw  all  his  power 
into  what  he  said. 

"  There  is  such  a  thing  as  divorce.    When  two 
love  each  other  oceans  should  not  force  them  apart." 


242  THEIR    MARRIAGE   BOND. 

She  shook  her  head,  while  her  eyes  fastened  them- 
selves on  the  carpet. 

"  One  cannot  get  a  divorce  unless  given  cause,"  she 
whispered. 

"  A  man  who  does  not  love  his  wife  will  give  cause, 
sooner  or  later,"  he  responded,  with  conviction. 

She  seemed  frightened  at  the  turn  the  conversation 
had  taken,  for  she  drew  away  from  him  and  shut  her 
lips  tightly  together. 

"  I  ought  not  to  talk  of  this  with  you,"  she  said,  shiv- 
ering. "  I  have  been  learning  to  bear  my  cross.  Don't 
tempt  me  to  cast  it  aside,  while  there  are  others  to  suffer 
as  well  as  I." 

She  had  admitted  that  she  wished  release  from  her 
husband.  She  had  not  denied  his  intimation  that  she 
cared  very  much  for  another. 

"  Ida/'  he  said,  in  his  tenderest  manner,  "  I  would 
give  the  world  to  serve  you.  Your  situation  seems  to 
me  the  most  deplorable  that  can  be  conceived.  At  pres- 
ent you  are,  luckily,  able  to  endure  it.  As  the  days  pass 
your  power  in  this  respect  will  steadily  wane.  You  are 
a  magnificent  woman,  and  a  loveless  union  is  more  than 
any  man  has  a  right  to  ask.  Let  me  assure  you,  if  you 
need  the  assurance,  that  all  I  am,  all  I  possess,  is  at  your 
disposal.  When  the  time  comes  that  you  can  use  me, 
say  the  word,  though  it  be  but  as  the  cloak  of  Raleigh, 
to  keep  your  shoe  from  soiling.  May  I  hope  that?" 

She  nodded,  with  her  eyes  full  of  tears. 

Then  he  said  he  must  be  going,  and  she  walked  slowly 
with  him  to  where  his  hat  and  cane  had  been  left. 

Mr.  Hayne  hailed  a  car  and  rode  out  to  Dorchester, 
where  he  could  divert  his  mind  with  the  interesting 
woman  and  child  who  had  been  go  long  under  his  pro- 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND.  243 

tection.  He  could  pass  an  hour  with  them,  and  with 
their  landlady,  who  was  seldom  dull  in  conversation. 

But  it  was  destined  to  be  a  disagreeable  day  with  him 
all  through.  One  of  the  first  things  he  learned  after 
meeting  Margaret  was  that  she  intended  to  leave  this 
home  soon,  and  seek  another  at  a  distance. 

'*'  I  am  so  glad  to  tell  you/'  she  explained,  "  that  I 
have  found  old  friends  who  will  relieve  you  of  my  care. 
As  soon  as  I  can  I  am  to  go  to  another  city,  and  shall  not 
need  your  aid  any  more." 

The  blank  look  with  which  Mr.  Hayne  received  this 
information  banished  the  smile  from  the  mother's  face 
almost  as  soon  as  it  came  there. 

"  Some  friends!"  he  repeated.  "  That  explains  your 
visit  to  Sidney  Brooks.  And  so,"  as  her  telltale  blush 
announced  that  his  guess  was  correct,  "  you  intend  to 
desert  me  for  the  first  man  who  will  give  you  a  lift?" 

"  But  I  have  no  claim  upon  you,"  replied  Margaret, 
breathlessly,  "  and  I  thought  you  would  be  glad  to 
know  I  would  not  need  your  help.  You  have  been  kind- 
ness itself,  and  I  shall  always  be  most  grateful,  but — " 

"  Oh,  don't  explain!"  he  broke  in.  "  When  are  you 
going?" 

His  manner  was  so  abrupt  that  Miss  Rivers  was  much 
confused. 

"  In  a  few  days,"  she  said,  stammeringly.  "  And,  per- 
haps, after  a  little  while,  I  can  send  you  the  amount 
you  have  expended  for  me.  I  have  the  account  here." 
She  took  a  little  memorandum  book  from  a  drawer. 
"  Here  is  every  date  and  figure,  from  the  first." 

He  felt  inclined  to  laugh,  as  he  thought  how  far  the 
real  sums  varied  from  those  she  had  been  given.  He 
was  paying,  for  instance,  $20  a  week  to  the  Withams  in- 
stead of  the  $2  which  she  had  been  told  was  the  price 


244  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

of  her  rooms,  the  meals  she  had  eaten  having  been  at 
the  "  urgent  request "  of  Mrs.  W.,  who  pleaded  lone- 
liness and  lack  of  feminine  companionship.  Everything 
had  gone  wrong  with  him  that  day,  and  this  was  but  on 
a  par  with  the  rest.  "Well,  he  had  never  counted  this  wo- 
man very  highly  in  his  plans.  She  amused  him,  and  he 
did  rather  like  the  baby.  Never  mind.  If  she  was  go- 
ing, she  was  going. 

He  did  not  like  to  talk  with  her  in  his  present  mood, 
so  he  descended  to  Mrs.  Witham's  part  of  the  house, 
where  he  found  that  lady  in  her  usual  good  spirits. 

"  Your  lodger  tells  me  she  is  going,"  he  remarked. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Witham,  eyeing  him  inquiringly. 

"  Does  she  say  where?" 

"  No.    But  I  can  find  out,  if  you  wish." 

"  Why  the  devil  should  I  care?"  he  said,  harshly.  "  I 
picked  her  out  of  the  gutter,  and  she  may  fall  back  into 
it,  for  all  of  me." 

Mrs.  Witham  was  a  shrewd  judge  of  men. 

"  You  do  care,  nevertheless,"  she  said,  good-naturedly. 
"  If  I  knew  all  that  is  in  your  mind,  I  should  know  what 
to  do  in  reference  to  a  discovery  I  made  to-day." 

It  is  said  that  curiosity  is  a  feminine  trait,  but  I  have 
noticed  that  some  men  are  not  free  from  it. 

"  There  is  nothing  in  my  mind,"  he  replied,  "  that 
will  prevent  my  listening  to  anything  you  may  have  to 
aay." 

The  woman  eyed  him  closely. 

"  It  isn't  a  case  of  love,  I'm  sure,"  she  mused,  aloud. 
"  You're  not  in  a  mood  to  be  jealous  of  anything  that 
occurred  before  you  knew  Mrs.  Taylor." 

"I  should  say  not,"  he  snapped. 

"  And  if  I  have  made  a  chance  discovery — which  gives 
an  acquaintance  of  yours  away — a  man  who  is  supposed 


THETR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  245 

to  be  above  such  things — you  won't  object  to  knowing 
it?" 

He  indicated  that  he  would  have  no  such  objection. 

She  drew  a  number  of  pieces  of  letter  paper  from  her 
pocket. 

"Don't  tell  Witham  I  found  these,"  she  said,  hesi- 
tatingly. "  Say  you  picked  them  up  yourself.  They 
were  in  her  waste-basket." 

She  laid  the  pieces  upon  a  table,  in  their  proper  order, 
BO  that  the  writing  could  be  followed  closely.  The  first 
words  were  "My  Dearest  Margaret,"  and  the  last, 
"  Yours  Forever,  Kingdon." 

It  was  not  a  long  letter,  but  it  revealed  all  that  Mr. 
Dale  would  least  have  liked  Mr.  Hayne  to  know,  and  the 
latter  felt  his  heart  throb  against  his  bosom  aa  he  re- 
flected on  the  weapon  thus  put  into  his  hand. 

"  Isn't  it  an  awful  good  joke?"  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Witham,  holding  her  sides  with  laughter. 

"  The  finest  in  the  world,"  was  the  reply,  as  Gordon 
joined  his  merriment,  however  forced,  to  hers. 

And  he  put  the  torn  pieces  of  the  letter  in  his  pocket. 


246  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 


CHAPTER  XXVL 

"WHOSE  CHILD  IS  THAT?" 

Notwithstanding  the  mild  manner  in  •which  Kingdon 
Dale  had  accepted  the  dictation  of  his  friend,  Mr. 
Brooks,  in  regard  to  the  way  his  assistance  should  be 
given  to  Miss  Eivers,  he  was  far  from  content  with  the 
total  separation  from  her  in  person  that  the  plan  in- 
volved. While  at  the  lawyer's  office  he  was  not  in  a 
condition  to  make  a  protest  against  a  scheme  which, 
whatever  else  it  did,  restored  to  him  the  privilege  of  con- 
tributing to  the  support  of  the  woman  he  loved.  This 
he  had  at  o-e  time  believed  would  almost  satisfy  him, 
for  he  had  passed  miserable  months  in  dread  of  the 
awful  alternatives  of  suicide  and  prostitution  for  the 
young  and  inexperienced  stranger  in  a  foreign  land. 

It  is  human  nature  to  ask  for  all  that  can  be  obtained 
and  to  be  pleased  with  as  little  as  possible.  Before  Mr. 
Dale  had  left  the  lawyer's  office  an  hour  he  regretted 
that  he  had  not  made  a  decided  stand  for  a  different  ar- 
rangement. 

Although  he  had  seen  her  face  to  face,  and  felt  the 
deliciousness  of  her  soft  touch  on  his  forehead,  she  had 
disappeared  as  effectually  as  before.  He  went  twice  to 
Mr.  Brooks,  begging  at  least  one  more  opportunity  to 
talk  with  her.  Sidney  not  only  declined,  representing 
that,  as  the  lady's  attorney,  he  had  no  right  to  grant  this, 
but  took  occasion  to  lecture  his  friend  upon  the  folly  of 
reopening  a  chapter  in  his  life  which  he  had  now  the 
strongest  reason  to  keep  closed. 


THF.IR    MARRIAGE   BOND.  247 

"  No  way  is  provided  in  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
by  which  a  man  may  have  two  wives,"  he  said,  curtly. 

"But  I  have   not   even   one,"    protested    Kingdon. 

A  spasm  crossed  the  face  of  the  listener. 

"  That  is  not  true,"  he  replied.  "  You  have  a  lawful 
wife,  and  nothing  but  your  excited  fancy  stands  between 
you.  The  mistake  was  in  the  marriage,  under  these  cir- 
cumstances." 

'"  But  now  it  is  done — now  that  the  harm  has  hap- 
pened to  Ida  and  to  me — is  there  nothing  you  can  sug- 
gest except  that  we  go  on  through  life  torturing  each 
other  by  playing  dog-in-the-manger?  You  have  studied 
law  and  read  the  philosophers.  Is  there  no  remedy  for 
us  in  all  your  books  on  the  shelves  there?  By  Heaven, 
I  will  find  one  before  I  am  through!"  he  added,  des- 
perately. 

To  resolve  to  do  a  thing  was,  to  Sidney  Brooks,  to 
put  the  resolve  in  operation.  He  did  not  move  as  quick- 
ly as  some  men,  but  in  the  long  run  he  accomplished 
quite  as  much  as  many  of  more  rapid  motion. 

He  had  been  invited  often  enough  to  visit  the  Dales. 
He  had,  indeed,  called  once  or  twice,  in  a  formal  way, 
and  had  a  brief  talk  with  both  of  them  of  an  evening. 
But  always  others  were  there,  and  he  learned  little  or 
nothing  of  value  to  the  emergency  that  now  confronted 
him.  Both  husband  and  wife  had  conducted  themselves 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  arouse  no  suspicion  in  the  mind 
of  any  person  not  already  conversant  with  the  facts. 
Ida  had  great  tact,  and  Kingdon  a  fair  amount  of  com- 
mon sense;  and,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Brooks,  no 
one  knew  the  entire  secret.  No,  not  even  Mrs.  Bruce. 

The  lawyer  selected  an  evening  when  Mr.  Dale  was  to 
be  from  home.  He  wanted  to  talk  with  the  wife  alone* 


248  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

He  did  not  know  exactly  what  he  would  say  to  her,  and 
at  best  he  was  diffident  with  women.  But  to  have  the 
husband  present  would  spoil  all.  Of  that  he  was  certain; 
the  rest  he  trusted  to  chance. 

When  his  card  was  brought  in,  Ida  hastened  to  greet 
him.  She  had  much  esteem  for  Mr.  Brooks,  regarding 
him  as  one  of  the  few  thoroughly  honest  persons  with 
whom  she  caine  in  contact.  From  the  first  time  they 
met  she  had  liked  him.  She  had  a  feeling  as  she  took 
his  hand  that  evening  that  he  would  be  a  real  friend  in 
case  one  was  needed. 

"Mr.  Dale  is  out,  I  am  sorry  to  say,"  she  told  him. 
"  But  that  will  not  prevent  your  remaining,  I  trust/' 

He  laid  down  his  hat  and  cane  where  she  indicated, 
and  replied  with  his  accustomed  straightforwardness: 

"  I  knew  he  was  out.  Mrs.  Dale.  I  came  because  he 
was  out." 

The  isolation  of  her  married  life,  the  great  need  of 
some  one  to  confide  in,  gratitude  that  he  had  been 
so  frank,  with  perhaps  still  other  sentiments  that  had 
been  growing  in  her  breast  unconsciously,  swept  Ida 
Dale  off  her  feet,  metaphorically  speaking.  Instead  of 
relinquishing  the  hand  she  had  taken,  she  held  it 
tighter,  and  in  a  sort  of  convulsive  clasp  drew  its  owner 
so  near  that  their  garments  touched. 

"  It  is  very  kind  of  you  to  say  this,"  she  murmured, 
frightened  at  what  she  was  doing,  and  at  the  same  time 
unable  to  resist  her  impulses. 

Mr.  Brooks  proved  for  once  to  be  equal  to  the  occa- 
sion. He  took  her  other  hand,  and,  with  both  of  them 
now  in  his  own,  he  held  her  there. 

"  I  would  do  anything  for  you — anything!"  he  said, 
astonished  at  his  own  actions.  "I — I  am  afraid — you 
are  not  happy." 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  249 

A  tear  rolled  down  her  cheek. 

"  You  are  right,"  she  whispered. 

And  then  she  tried  to  say  more  and  could  not. 

"  Let  us  sit  down,"  said  he,  "  and  talk  about  it." 

Loosening  her  hold  as  if  unwillingly,  Ida  followed 
the  advice.  She  had  done  that  which  in  the  presence  of 
any  other  man  would  have  covered  her  with  confusion, 
hut  his  manner  seemed  to  redeem  everything.  He  had 
taken  her  warm  hand  in  his  and  held  it  tightly,  he  had 
let  her  draw  him  to  her  and  had  drawn  her  to  him  in 
return,  and  yet  she  was  quite  safe.  He  was  only  going 
to  "sit  down  and  talk." 

"  What  is  the  cause  of  your  unhappiness?"  was  his 
next  question. 

His  voice  was  as  sweet  and  low  as  any  woman's. 

"  My  marriage,"  she  answered,  without  hesitation. 

"  You  are  wedded  to  one  man  while  you  love  an- 
other?" 

She  started  at  the  statement,  made  so  simply. 

"  I  am  married  to  a  man  whom  I  do  not  love  and 
who  does  not  love  me/' 

He  returned  to  the  question,  after  the  manner  of  law- 
yers. 

"And  there  is  another  whom  you  would  have  mar- 
ried had  you  consulted  your  heart  alone?" 

"You  surely  do  not  expect  me  to  admit  that,"  she 
stammered,  faintly. 

"  No.  I  will  answer  it  for  you.  I  know  it  is  true.  I 
have  known  it  for  a  long  time." 

She  touched  his  arm  with  her  fingers,  as  gently  as  if 
it  were  brushed  by  the  wing  of  a  bird. 

"How  did  you  know?"  she  whispered. 

"I  cannot  tell.  I  suppose  it  was  instinct,  for  yon 
have  never  uttered  a  word  to  me  on  the  subject  I  could 


250  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

not  speak  to  you  about  it,  when  your  marriage  was  al- 
ready decided  upon.  The  problem  was  too  great  for  me 
to  solve.  I  could  only  remain  silent,  and  resolve  to 
shield  you  if  I  found  anything  venomous  crawling  across 
your  path." 

The  woman  shuddered. 

"  The  things  that  crawl  have  no  power  to  do  me 
harm,"  she  said,  earnestly. 

"  Many  a  woman  has  thought  that,  and  discovered 
her  error/'  said  Mr.  Brooks.  "  The  only  safeguard  is  in 
the  love  of  a  true  husband." 

The  loss,  the  terrible  loss,  that  she  had  suffered,  rolled 
over  Ida's  mind  like  a  wave.  The  love  of  a  true  hus- 
band! What  had  she,  what  was  she  likely  to  have,  to  fill 
its  place? 

"  I  am  in  a  delicate  position,"  said  Mr.  Brooks,  later 
in  the  evening.  "  There  are  many  things  I  might  say 
were  not  the  atmosphere  so  clouded.  Let  us  leave  it  this 
way:  If  there  is  anything  in  which  I  can  help  you,  prom- 
ise to  call  on  me  without  hesitation." 

"  I  will  do  so,"  she  replied,  fervently. 

It  was  something  to  a  woman  who  had  so  few  persons 
on  whom  she  could  rely.  She  saw  the  tall  form  of  the 
lawyer  depart  half  an  hour  later  with  a  sense  of  grati- 
tude for  his  interest  in  her  that  passed  the  power  of  ex- 
pression. 

Mr.  Dale's  determination  that  he  would  find  the 
whereabouts  of  Miss  Rivers  suffered  no  abatement  as  the 
weeks  glided  by.  With  that  strange  double  conscious- 
ness which  is  often  noted,  he  attended  to  his  business 
in  a  manner  that  gave  his  associates  no  occasion  for 
fault,  while  beneath  the  talk  of  spices  and  coffee  the 
image  of  Margaret  was  ever  clearly  outlined. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  251 

He  made  a  new  arrangement  with  the  firm  of  de- 
tectives, and  a  man  was  detailed  to  shadow  both  Mr. 
Brooks  and  his  office  at  all  hours.  If  Margaret  had  been 
to  see  the  attorney  once,  she  might  come  again;  if  she 
did  not  come,  she  might  write;  if  she  did  neither,  Brooks 
might  go  to  meet  her  at  some  other  place,  possibly  the 
very  one  in  which  she  was  living. 

The  vigilance  of  the  spotter  was  at  last  rewarded. 
Miss  Rivers  entered  the  lawyer's  office,  and  when  she 
emerged  was  followed  to  a  house  in  Cambridge,  where 
she  was  domiciled. 

Kingdon  Dale  did  not  hesitate  long  when  he  learned 
under  which  roof  his  idol  was  to  be  found.  That  very 
evening  he  took  the  street  car  from  Boston  and  went  to 
call  upon  her. 

"  I  believe  there  is  a  lady  rooming  here,"  he  said  to 
the  servant  who  answered  his  ring. 

"Mrs.  Eivers?    Yes." 

So  she  had  resumed  her  own  name! 

'•'  Tell  her  a  gentleman  wishes  to  see  her." 

The  servant  was  gone  several  minutes.  When  she  re- 
turned she  said  Mrs.  Rivers  wished  to  know  the  name  of 
her  caller. 

Taking  a  Mankbook  from  his  pocket,  Mr.  Dale  wrote 
a  few  words  on  a  leaf  and  tore  it  out.  "  Give  her  this," 
he  said. 

He  had  written:  "I  must  see  you  for  a  few  minutes. 
Unless  you  utterly  hate  me,  do  not  refuse  this  boon." 

The  messenger  returned  with  the  request  that  he  walk 
upstairs.  The  lady  he  wished  to  see  was  in  the  rear  room 
on  the  first  floor.  An  instant  later  he  had  mounted  the 
steps,  and,  not  even  pausing  to  knock,  had  opened  the 
door  and  stood  in  the  presence  of  his  beloved. 

When  she  received  his  note,  and  knew  what  she  bad 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

•uspected  at  first,  that  it  was  Mr.  Dale  who  was  waiting, 
Margaret  had  been  thrown  into  a  state  of  excitement. 
Her  first  impulse  was  to  decline  to  see  him.  Then  she 
reflected  that  a  man  of  his  temperament  could  not  be 
put  off  so  easily — that  having  discovered  her  home  he 
would  insist  on  meeting  her  at  all  costs.  She  would  have 
to  let  him  in,  notwithstanding  the  tacit  agreement  she 
had  entered  into  with  Mr.  Brooks. 

She  was  holding  the  baby  in  her  arms  when  the  mes- 
sage came,  and  for  a  few  moments  she  contemplated  va- 
rious plans  for  disposing  of  that  young  gentleman  until 
after  the  conference  was  ended.  But,  as  she  glanced 
about  the  room,  she  saw  that  there  were  many  telltale 
proofs  of  his  existence  besides  his  own  self.  A  crib  stood 
by  her  bed;  little  garments  were  scattered  here  and 
there. 

And  then  there  came  over  the  young  mother  an  irre- 
sistible yearning  to  show  this  part  of  herself  and  of  him 
to  the  long-absent  father.  She  wanted  to  gaze  into  the 
eyes  of  her  former  lover  when  they  first  encountered 
those  of  his  offspring. 

So  she  met  him,  standing  in  the  centre  of  the  room, 
with  the  baby  in  her  arms. 

His  astonishment  was  intense.  For  a  few  seconds  he 
was  fairly  dazed  by  the  spectacle. 

It  was  her  child;  he  did  not  for  an  instant  doubt  that. 
Something  of  the  halo  with  which  painters  crown  the 
Madonna  hovers  over  the  head  of  every  young  mother. 

"  Margaret!"  he  stammered.    "  Margaret!" 

A  thrill  of  delight  shot  through  her  bosom. 

"  Sit  down,"  she  said.  "  You  did  not  know  of  this," 
she  added,  when  he  had  been  persuaded,  though  with 
difficulty,  to  accept  the  invitation  to  be  seated.  "I 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  853 

thought  it  best  to  keep  the  information  from  you, 
but—" 

His  eyes  were  opened  wide.  The  blood  had  sprung  to 
every  artery  in  his  body.  His  face  was  suffused  with 
color. 

"  TSvl—tmne!  Margaret,  you  do  not  mean — that  it  is 
— mine/" 

That  she  did  mean  it — that  she  was  overwnelmed  at 
the  insinuation  that  it  could  belong  to  any  one  else,  was 
all  too  evident  from  the  look  in  her  face,  from  the  gush 
of  tears  in  her  eyes.  He  fell  on  the  floor  at  her  feet, 
mother,  father  and  child  mixed  in  confusion. 

"  Mine!"  he  cried  again,  raising  himself  to  look  at  the 
tiny  thing.  "Miner 

She  nodded  through  her  tears,  and  did  not  resist  when 
he  caught  her  to  his  breast,  to  the  imminent  danger  of 
the  infant,  and  kissed  her  again  and  again  on  the  lips. 

"My  wife!"  he  exclaimed,  between  each  embrace. 
"My  darling,  darling  wife!" 

Slowly  her  senses  returned,  and  she  extricated  herself 
from  the  heap. 

"  You  must  not  call  me  that,"  she  said,  sadly.  "  You 
are  married,  and  the  name  of  wife  should  be  sacred  to 
you." 

He  laughed  hysterically. 

"  I  will  never  listen  to  such  casuistry  again,"  he  said. 
"  You  are  the  only  wife  I  ever  had,  and  your  talk  shall 
not  divorce  us.  This  boy — this  girl — " 

"  Boy,"  she  interrupted. 

"  This  boy  is  witness  of  which  was  my  true  marriage, 
and  all  the  powers  on  earth  shall  not  gainsay  his  evi- 
dence." 

Rivers  of  joy  flowed  over  her  at  his  words,  but  she 
would  not  give  up  so  soon. 


254  THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND. 

"  You  have  married  since  I  saw  you;  is  it  not  true?* 
she  asked. 

"  I  went  through  a  ceremony  before  a  clergyman  to 
prolong  the  life  of  my  father,"  he  admitted,  "  but  there 
was  no  marriage.  I  have  wedded  but  one  woman,  loved 
but  one,  been  true  to  but  one — and  she  is  here  now." 
,  Thrown  by  the  force  of  her  affection  on  each  wave 
of  his  impetuosity,  the  strong  conscience  in  the  Eng- 
lish girl  drove  her  back  again  to  the  shore  of  what  she 
called  justice. 

"  You  have  been  living  with  her  as  your  wife,"  she 
said.  "  That  completes  the  action  of  the  law  and  the 
church." 

"I  have  lived  under  the  same  roof,  but  I  am  no 
bigamist.  I  married  the  woman  I  loved  in  Gibraltar, 
and  I  cannot  wed  again.  I  have  a  wife,  dearest,  and  a 
child!  They  are  here.  All  the  sophistries  in  creation 
shall  never  make  me  doubt  again  where  my  duty  lies/* 

Miss  Eivers  listened  with  palpitating  heart. 

"  But  legally  you  are  hers,"  she  replied.  "  She  can 
claim  you." 

"  Even  there  you  need  fear  nothing,"  he  said.  "  She 
does  not  wish  to  claim  me.  She  was  led  into  a  mistaken 
step  by  a  misguided  view  of  filial  devotion.  She  will  be 
very  willing  to  surrender  a  man  who  adds  nothing  to 
her  happiness.  I  will  give  her  the  opportunity  of  seek- 
ing a  divorce.  The  law  that  has  chained  her  shall  make 
her  free." 

He  tried  to  kiss  Margaret  again,  but  she  resisted  him 
effectually. 

"  No,  Kingdon,"  she  said,  "  it  is  the  old  story  once 
more.  A  woman  who  has  loved  you  enough  to  take  your 
name  in  marriage  could  not  be  willing  to  give  you  up. 
I  would  die  of  hunger  rather  than  steal  the  love  that  be- 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  255 

longs  to  another.  You  are  hers.  You  are  not  mine.  I 
have  no  right  to  you." 

He  was  sobered,  but  not  convinced.  He  took  the 
baby  in  his  arms  and  talked  about  him. 

"I  really  believe  he  looks  like  me!"  he  continued. 
"  What  have  you  named  him?" 

"  I  have  called  him  nothing  but '  Baby '  yet.  He  is  so 
little." 

"  He  is  a  giant!"  was  the  reply. 

He  finally  succeeded  in  making  her  say  that  he  might 
call  sometimes,  and  that  the  sum  necessary  for  the  sup- 
port of  her  and  his  child  should  come  direct  through 
his  hands. 

"  You  will  have  to  behave  very  nicely,"  she  said.  "  No 
more  hugging  or  kissing.  And  you  must  not  come 
oftener  than  once  a  month." 

This  prohibition  was  at  last  reduced  to  once  a  week, 
with  which  he  was  fain  to  be  content,  for  the  present. 
He  would  trust  to  the  future  to  curtail  the  limit  to 
reasonable  proportions. 

It  was  a  blissful  evening  that  he  passed,  take  it  alto- 
gether. He  had  known  nothing  so  happy  since  before 
that  awful  day  when  they  landed  together  in  New  York 
and  she  deserted  him  at  the  hotel  door. 


256  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BONDu 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

IDA  ROUSED  TO  ANGER. 

Tbe  new  address  of  Miss  Rivers  was  soon  communi- 
cated to  Mr.  Hayne  by  Mrs.  \Yitham,  who  ascertained  it 
from  an  expressman.  Probably  Margaret  would  not 
have  refused  to  give  it  to  him  herself,  had  he  asked  her, 
for  she  felt  the  highest  gratitude  for  all  he  had  done 
in  her  behalf,  and  in  parting  she  tried  to  give  expression 
to  her  f  efjings  by  her  most  hearty  thanks.  But  Gordon 
was  in  no  mood  to  question  her,  or  to  accept  her  praises. 
He  did  not  at  the  moment  care  where  she  was  going. 
He  thought  in  an  indistinct  way  that  her  actions  did  not 
comport  very  well  with  her  professions,  but  he  was  will- 
ing to  end  the  incident.  His  mind  was  full  of  Ida  Dale, 
and  other  matters  took  their  places  with  things  of  minor 
interest. 

When  Mrs.  Witham  told  him  the  street  and  number 
of  the  Cambridge  house,  however,  he  caught  eagerly  at 
the  lever  thus  put  into  his  hands.  "Worthless  as  it  was  in 
one  sense,  since  he  did  not  mean  to  visit  Margaret  in  her 
new  home,  it  might  be  very  valuable  in  its  effect  when 
Ida  knew  that  her  husband  had  a  former  mistress  so 
near  Boston.  The  letter  that  had  been  pieced  together 
revealed  everything.  It  admitted  the  pecuniary  sup- 
port which  Miss  Rivers  was  receiving  from  Dale,  and 
expressed  the  deepest  grief  that  he  could  not  occupy  his 
'*'  true  position  "  as  her  natural  protector  in  the  eyes  of 
the  world.  This  letter  might  certainly  have  a  value  if 
used  at  the  proper  time. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  $57 

Gordon's  passion  surprised  him  by  its  strength. 
There  was  nothing  ephemeral  about  it.  It  grew  with 
each  passing  hour,  until  it  was  the  only  thing  that  filled 
his  mind.  He  would  have  Ida,  if  there  was  any  way  to 
accomplish  it.  No  matter  at  what  sacrifice  of  money  or 
honor,  he  must  possess  this  sweetest  ornament  of  wo- 
manhood. 

Everything  convinced  him  that  his  progress  was  sure, 
if  slow.  Mrs.  Dale  regarded  him  as  a  friend.  His  pres- 
ence at  her  apartments  was  always  welcome.  He  was 
confidential  with  her  almost  to  the  degree  of  familiarity. 
She  had  confessed  that  her  marriage  was  not  happy. 
She  had  implied,  at  least,  that  she  loved  another,  and 
who  could  that  other  be  but  himself?  Brought  up  with 
Puritanic  strictness,  the  idea  of  violating  the  laws  of  so- 
ciety must  be  brought  into  her  mind  with  the  greatest 
care. 

During  the  very  hours  that  Mr.  Dale  was  meeting  his 
love  and  his  child  in  Cambridge,  quite  a  different  scene 
was  being  enacted  at  the  flat  in  Boston.  Mr.  Hayne  was 
making  one  of  his  afternoon  calls,  and  was  using  every 
effort  to  bring  his  long  quest  to  a  close. 

"  You  are  sad  again  to-day,"  Ida  said  to  him,  when  he 
had  been  in  the  house  half  an  hour,  and  had  replied  in 
monosyllables  to  all  her  suggestions. 

"  There  is  no  happiness  in  store  for  me,"  was  his  re- 
ply. "  I  am  doomed  .0  misery.  Not  only  have  I  my 
own  griefs  to  bear,  but  one  I  love  is  being  deceived  in 
the  most  cruel  manner,  and  there  is  nothing  I  dare  do 
to  aid  her." 

She  studied  the  statement  for  some  seconds,  and  then 
asked  him  bluntly  to  explain. 

"What  good  will  it  do?"  he  demanded.  "No  one 
blesses  the  bearer  of  evil  tidings.  Supposing  I  should 


858  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

tell  a  woman  that  her  husband  was  a  robber  and  a  mur- 
derer. She  might  leave  him,  but  she  would  always  as- 
sociate me  with  her  injury." 

A  robber  and  a  murderer!  That  certainly  could  not 
refer  to  Kingdon. 

"  I  never  could  understand  riddles/'  Ida  said,  with  a 
pout  that  made  her  look  entrancing.  "  Why  don't  you 
speak  out  plainly.  If  you  know  anything  that  you  ought 
to  tell  me,  fear  nothing.  I  hope  I  am  sensible  enough 
not  to  connect  a  friend  who  brings  unpleasant  news  with 
the  news  itself." 

He  regarded  her  so  intently  that  she  flushed  before  his 
gaze. 

"  Shall  I?"  he  asked,  dreamily.  "  I  ought  to  tell  you, 
but  is  it  wise?" 

He  took  a  package  from  the  pocket  of  his  coat,  and 
held  it  thoughtfully  in  his  hands.  Then  he  slowly  un- 
wrapped it  and  exhibited  two  pieces  of  glass,  on  which 
fragments  of  a  torn  letter  were  pasted  in  such  a  manner 
that  both  sides  could  be  easily  read. 

"No!"  he  exclaimed,  as  if  strongly  moved.  "It  is 
better  that  you  do  not  read  it." 

Ida  had  seen  at  a  glance  that  the  writing  was  that  of 
her  husband,  and  her  curiosity  was  aroused  to  the  ut- 
most. As  Mr.  Hayne  had  expected,  she  sprang  to  his 
iside  and  endeavored  to  take  the  article  from  him,  while 
he  was  in  the  pretended  act  of  returning  it  to  his  pocket. 
There  was  a  pretty  little  struggle,  and  then,  as  if  out  of 
pure  gallantry,  he  surrendered,  and  the  panes  of  glass 
were  in  her  hands. 

"It  is  cruel!"  he  said,  with  well-simulated  emotion. 
"  I  cannot  justify  myself  for  letting  you  see  this.  But, 
after  all,  the  fault  is  his.  I  will  resist  no  more.  Lay  it 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

on  the  table,  and  see  what  your  friend  and  mine  is  capa- 
ble of  doing." 

With  shaking  fingers  she  did  as  suggested.  Mr.  Hayne 
assisted  by  laying  the  pieces  in  their  proper  order,  and 
turning  the  pages  when  she  had  read  to  the  foot  of  each. 
With  palpitating  heart  the  young  wife  read  the  lines 
which  showed  that  her  husband  had  a  real,  true  affection 
for  another  woman;  that  the  marriage  bond  which 
bound  him  to  one  he  could  never  love  were  all  that 
kept  him  from  linking  his  life  to  her.  And  Mr.  Hayne, 
having  played  his  great  card,  watched  the  effect  with 
eyes  which  he  had  attuned  to  sympathetic  grief  for  her 
outraged  feelings. 

"  My  dear  girl,"  he  said,  in  a  low  tone,  when  she  had 
reached  the  end  for  the  second  time — each  word  having 
been  re-conned — "  I  am  so  sorry  for  you;  but,  after  all,  it 
was  my  duty  to  bring  you  this.  Could  anything  be  more 
heartless  than  his  conduct?" 

"  Nothing,"  said  Ida,  blinking  hard,  and  putting  her 
hand  blindly  to  her  forehead.  "  How  did  you  come  in 
possession  of  this?" 

He  told  her  a  carefully  prepared  story,  how  he  had 
met  Miss  Rivers  at  the  home  of  his  friend  in  Dorchester; 
how  a  servant,  recognizing  the  signature  to  the  letter, 
had  picked  it  out  of  a  waste-basket  and  handed  it  to  him 
as  a  "joke  "  on  Mr.  Dale;  and  how  he  had  been  shocked 
by  the  perfidy  which  its  contents  represented. 

"  I  thought  at  first  that  I  would  show  him  what  I  had 
learned,"  added  Hayne.  "  and  demand  that  he  terminate 
a  double  existence  that  is  a  crime  to  you  and  a  shame  to 
humanity.  But  his  letter  showed  that  the  right  alterna- 
tive— that  of  giving  up  this  woman — is  too  improbable 
to  be  hoped  for.  The  language  he  uses  in  that  note 
•hows  a  perfect  infatuation.  Then  I  reflected  that  no 


260  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND). 

one  can  ever  tell  what  a  woman  will  do;  that  perhaps 
you  would  rather  retain  him,  unfaithful  though  he  be, 
than  to  have  your  name  in  the  divorce  column;  that  I 
had  no  right  to  interfere  with  your  affairs,  without  put- 
ting you  in  possession  of  all  the  facts.  And  I  brought 
the  letter  here  to-day,  doubtful  if  I  should  find  courage 
to  exhibit  it,  fearful  lest  the  good  turn  I  wanted  to  do 
you  might  be  misconstrued  and  cause  me  to  fall  in  the 
esteem  of  one  whose  high  opinion  I  value  above  every- 
thing." 

She  sat  listening  With  the  air  of  one  from  whom  all 
bodily  strength  had  vanished.  The  blow  had  been  very 
hard  for  her. 

"We  shall  have  to  separate — Kingdon  and  I,"  she 
said,  thoughtfully. 

"  But  your  mother?'*'  he  asked,  significantly. 

"  I  cannot  consider  her  altogether,"  said  Ida,  calmly. 
"  For  her  I  made  the  error  of  my  life.  She  has  seen  her 
mistake,  and  I  do  not  think  she  will  try  to  override  my 
feelings  again.  If  she  does,  I  must  oppose  her.  This  is 
a  matter  that  is  vital.  There  are  no  two  wdys  to  take." 

"  There  is  one  that  many  would  think  of,"  he  said, 
leaning  affectionately  toward  her.  "  A  divorce  makes  a 
terrible  scandal.  However  wronged,  the  wife  is  injured 
by  the  operation.  When  a  husband  has  violated  his 
vows,  it  is  not  always  best  to  release  him  from  the  obli- 
gations he  has  assumed.  That  Would  be  pleasing  him 
too  well,  for  as  soon  as  the  decree  is  pronounced  he  ia 
free  to  spend  the  rest  of  his  days  with  the  one  who 
shares  his  guilt." 

Then,  to  Gordon's  intense  surprise,  the  young  wife 
rose  and  turned  upon  him  with  a  torrent  of  invective. 
She  understood  him  at  last. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  J61 

"Beast!"  she  cried.  "Coward!  Wretch!  How  do 
you  dare!  How  do  you — " 

The  words  choked  in  her  throat.  She  was  too  angry 
for  expression,  but  the  convulsed  lines  in  her  face  told 
their  own  story. 

"  Curse  it!  "  he  answered,  rising.  "  You  are  a  pretty 
woman  to  use  this  talk  to  me!" 

A  marvelous  change  had  been  wrought  in  hoth  their 
faces.  Hatred  and  repugnance  struggled  for  the  mas- 
tery where  warm  affection  had  sat  so  lately. 

"  Leave  the  house!"  shouted  Ida,  pointing  to  the  door. 
"  And  never,  so  long  as  you  live,  enter  it  again!" 

Mr.  Hayne  laughed  in  her  face,  sneeringly. 

"Pshaw!"  said  he.  "You  won't  get  rid  of  me  BO 
easily.  I  have  treated  you  like  a  lady  of  refined  feelings, 
and  that  was  my  mistake.  You  are  not  entitled  to  any 
such  usage." 

She  looked  at  him  as  if  he  were  a  python  into  whoet 
den  she  had  inadvertently  strayed. 

The  front  door  bell  rang,  and  a  guest  was  shown  into 
the  reception  room,  but  in  their  excitement  neither  of 
them  heard  a  sound. 

He  paused  to  catch  his  breath,  and  then  said,  "  It  is  a 
sin  that  we  should  quarrel,  Ida.  You  drove  me  mad 
with  your  coldness,  when  I  have  loved  you  half  my  life 
and  would  spill  my  heart's  blood  for  you.  Come  to  me 
now,  give  me  the  affection  I  crave,  and  no  woman  ever 
had  a  truer,  more  loyal  friend  than  I  will  be  to  you." 

He  opened  his  arms  and  advanced  toward  her,  but  she 
retreated. 

"  Go,  I  tell  you!"  she  cried,  pointing  to  the  door. 

The  door  from  the  reception  room  opened  silently. 
The  tall  form  of  Sidney  Brooks  entered.  Mr.  Hayne 
iurned  to  ascertain  the  identity  of  the  intruder.  When, 


262  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

he  saw  Brooks  he  was  even  more  confused  than  if  it  had 
been,  indeed,  the  husband. 

Pausing  but  an  instant  to  recover  her  breath,  Ida 
flew  to  the  lawyer,  and  nestled,  like  a  frightened  bird  to 
his  side.  She  began  to  sob,  and  Mr.  Hayne  had  a  feel- 
ing that  he  could  not  well  have  exhibited  himself  in  a 
more  trying  situation. 

"What  shall  I  do  to  him?"  whispered  the  melodious 
voice  of  her  rescuer. 

"  Oh,  let  him  go!  Make  him  go!"  was  the  reply,  in 
distressed  tones. 

The  lawyer  pointed  toward  the  open  door,  without 
changing  his  position.  With  the  arms  of  that  lovely 
woman  about  his  waist,  he  had  no  wish  to  move. 

"  I'll  go,  all  right,"  snapped  Hayne,  drawing  himself 
up.  "  Of  course,  you  don't  understand  but  half  of  this, 
or  you'd  see  it  in  a  different  light.  But  there's  one 
thing  I  will  say,  and  that  is,  the  mortgage  on  her  prop- 
erty will  be  foreclosed  at  once.  I'm  not  going  to  put  a 
fortune  in  jeopardy  for  people  who  haven't  the  first 
symptom  of  gratitude." 

"  You  need  not  go  to  any  trouble  on  that  matter,"  was 
the  dispassionate  answer  of  the  lawyer,  still  without 
changing  his  attitude.  "  If  you  will  send  the  papers  to 
my  office  to-morrow  /  will  pay  you  all  that  is  due,  prin- 
cipal and  interest." 

The  promise  was  so  unexpected,  and  so  full  of  relief  to 
the  young  wife,  who  had  immediately  thought  of  her 
stricken  mother's  prospective  distress,  that  she  unwound 
the  arms  that  encircled  the  lawyer's  waist  and  twined 
them,  as  far  as  her  smaller  height  would  permit,  about 
his  neck. 

"  Oh,  that's  it,  eh!"  exclaimed  Hayne  to  Mrs.  Dale. 
"  Well,  I  wish  you  joy!  The  girl  I  told  you  of,  who  has 


THiIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  368 

beer  Kingdon's  darling,  is  also  a  particular  friend  of 
this  high-minded  fellow.  I  found  her  the  other  day  in 
the  private  room  at  his  office!  It's  getting  complicated, 
isn't  it?" 

The  form  that  clung  to  Mr.  Brooks  grew  heavy  upon 
him.  The  clinging  hands  slowly  unclasped.  The  knees 
gave  way,  and  Ida  slid  downward  through  his  arms  to 
the  floor. 

" Fiend!"  cried  the  lawyer  to  Hayne,  "I  believe  you 
have  killed  her!" 

Aroused  at  last  to  a  sense  of  decency,  Gordon  ran  to 
the  kitchen,  where  he  acquainted  the  servant  with  the 
fact  that  her  lady  had  fainted.  The  girl  came  in  with 
remedies,  and,  thinking  that  it  was  best  for  him  to  go, 
the  man  who  had  precipitated  all  the  trouble  left  the 
house. 

Soon  after  Ida  had  been  placed  on  a  sofa  and  regained 
consciousness,  Mrs.  Bruce  arrived.  A  brief  explanation 
of  the  fact  that  her  daughter  had  been  suddenly  over- 
come was  what  Mr.  Brooks  vouchsafed,  for,  above  all,  he 
did  not  wish  her  to  guess  what  had  happened.  Before 
leaving  he  stooped  for  a  moment  over  Ida,  to  express  the 
hope  that  she  would  soon  be  all  right,  and  she  whispered 
so  lov  that  it  reached  no  ears  but  his: 

"  Do  not  desert  me,  my  friend — my  only  friend!" 

"  I  will  try  to  run  in  to-morrow/'  he  said,  the  remark 
intended  for  both  ladies.  "  I  want  to  see  you  and  King- 
don  together,  and  you  also,  Mrs.  Bruce.  There  has  been 
a  syndicate  formed  for  building  a  boulevard  through 
Newton,  and  they  are  ready  to  make  a  very  handsome 
offer  for  a  part  of  your  lands  there." 


264  THBIR  MARRIAGE  BOND 


CHAPTEE  XXVIH. 

"THAT  IS  AMUSING,  MY  DEAR." 

The  camel  that  succeeded  in  putting  his  head  inside 
the  tent  of  the  proverbial  Arab  had  little  difficulty  in 
introducing  subsequently  the  whole  of  his  body.  The 
first  visit  of  Mr.  Dale  to  Miss  Eivers,  at  her  new  home, 
broke  the  ice  between  them.  Kingdon  paid  no  attention 
to  the  limit  of  "  once  a  week  "  that  she  had  made  to  his 
calls,  but  was  soon  in  the  habit  of  running  in  daily,  and 
spending  an  hour  or  more  with  his  old  sweetheart  and 
her  pretty  child.  Nothing  was  said  about  the  matter  to 
Mr.  Brooks.  The  income  that  Mr.  Dale  allowed  to  Mar- 
garet still  passed  through  the  lawyer's  hands.  Dale 
thought  the  easiest  way  the  best,  and  did  not  care  to 
disturb  the  new  status  quo,  which  had  so  many  elements 
of  delight  to  him  after  his  long  separation  from  the 
woman  he  loved. 

As  to  Margaret,  though  troubled  with  doubts,  she 
could  not  refuse  to  receive  the  man  whose  presence  was 
of  all  things  most  delightful  to  her,  and  who  conducted 
himself  like  a  thorough  gentleman,  without  ever  offer- 
ing to  renew  the  love-making  of  the  old  time.  She 
found  excuses  enough,  arguing  that  no  real  harm  was 
being  done  to  the  legal  wife,  concerning  whom  not  a 
word  of  discussion  was  had  between  them.  Mr.  Dale 
devoted  most  of  his  stay  on  each  occasion  to  the  baby, 
basking  in  the  presence  of  his  infant  eon  in  a  way  that 
was  touching  in  the  extreme.  He  talked  about  him  to 
Margaret,  storing  his  mind  with  the  lore  of  babyhood. 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND.  265 

but  for  the  most  part  the  time  was  passed  in  a  contented 
silence,  except  for  such  sounds  as  the  child  began  to 
make,  of  satisfaction  at  seeing  his  new  friend,  whom  he 
grew  to  expect  and  admire. 

"  Have  you  given  him  any  name  yet?"  asked  Dale  one 
afternoon,  when  he  had  passed  the  usual  happy  time  at 
play  with  the  little  fellow. 

"Not — really,"  she  replied,  in  some  confusion.  "I 
have  thought  of  calling  him  Leonard,  after  my  father, 
but  he  wants  two  names,  I  suppose,  and  the  other  one  is 
still  undecided. 

He  knew  as  well  as  if  she  had  said  so  in  plain  words 
that  she  wished  to  make  that  other  name  "  Kingdon," 
and  hesitated  on  account  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  case. 

"  You  might  name  him  for  the  friend  who  took  such 
good  care  of  you  before  he  was  born/'  he  suggested. 
"  By  the  way,  you  never  have  told  me  anything  about 
him;  and  perhaps  you  had  rather  not,"  he  added,  looking 
at  her  furtively. 

Miss  Rivers  blushed. 

"  I  have  no  right  to  tell  you,"  she  said.  "  He  was  a 
kind  gentleman,  who  sympathized  with  my  misfortune 
and  treated  me  with  the  utmost  consideration." 

"  An  old  man?"  asked  Kingdon,  after  a  pause. 

"  No,  a  young  man;  and  very  good-looking;  rich,  too, 
he  gave  me  to  understand." 

He  digested  the  statement  with  a  frown  that  he  could 
not  help. 

"  What  do  you  suppose  was  his  object?"  he  asked. 

She  waited  some  time  before  replying. 

"If  I  must  answer,  and  tell  the  whole  truth,"  she 
said,  at  last,  "  I  believe  he  meant  to  win  my  love,  and 
wait  for  the  time  when  I  should  manifest  it  toward 
him." 


265  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BONJ>. 

"  And  he  did  win  some  of  it,  I  suppose,"  he  said,  dole- 
fully. "You  could  hardly  be  impervious  to  so  much 
kindness." 

"  He  won  my  regard  and  gratitude,"  said  Margaret. 

"  A  single  man,  of  course?" 

She  bowed. 

"  Single,  young,  handsome  and  rich.  If  you  had  not 
met  me  again,  and  he  had  asked  you  to  marry  him — " 

"  He  would  not  have  done  that,  I  am  sure,"  she  inter- 
posed. "  There  was  the — baby — in  the  way." 

It  was  pathetic  to  think  of!  No  matter  what  grand 
opportunities  might  come  to  this  girl,  the  illegitimate 
child  would  raise  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  her  future. 

"  What  is  that  ring  on  your  wedding  finger?"  he  de- 
manded, noticing  it,  strangely  enough,  for  the  first  time. 

"  I  bought  it  in  New  York,"  she  said.  "  It  was  nec- 
essary to  pretend  to  be  a  wife.  You  understand?  I  told 
Mr. — this  gentleman  of  whom  we  are  speaking — that  my 
husband  died  at  sea  on  the  passage  over." 

"  I  did  not  suppose  you  could  invent  such  a  big  story 
as  that,"  said  Dale. 

"  It  was  not  easy,  but — it  had  to  be  done." 

"Poor  little  girl!"  he  exclaimed,  sympathetically. 
"  What  a  monster  I  must  seem  to  you!" 

She  bade  him  "  Hush!"  Before  he  could  say  anything 
more  a  servant  knocked  and  presented  the  card  of  a 
gentleman  who,  she  said,  was  waiting  below  stairs. 

An  uncontrollable  fit  of  jealousy,  of  curiosity,  call  it 
what  you  may,  seized  Mr.  Dale  at  the  moment.  He  took 
the  card  from  the  servant's  hand  and  read  the  name 
upon  it  before  Miss  Rivers  could  stop  him: 

"  GORDON  HAYNE." 

"Wait  a  minute  at  the  door!"  he  said  to  the  maid, 


THLELK.  MARRIAGE  BOND.  267 

huskily,  closing  the  portal.  Then  he  turned  and  sur- 
veyed Margaret  sternly. 

"  You  know  whose  card  this  is,"  he  asked,  chokingly. 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  growing  paler,  but  losing  nothing  of 
her  firmness. 

"  It  is  that  of  the  '  friend '  who  paid  your  bills  for 
nearly  a  year?" 

"Yes,"  she  said,  again. 

"  And  he  is  still  in  the  habit  of  calling  to  see  you?" 

"  No.  It  is  the  first  time  since  I  moved.  I  did  not 
think  that  he  knew  my  address." 

"Was  she  lying  again?  Did  she  think  it  "necessary," 
as  she  had  done  in  the  matter  of  the  wedding  ring? 

"  Margaret,"  he  said,  "  I  don't  disbelieve  you,  but  I 
want  you  to  prove  this  to  me.  I  know  this  man,  and  I 
know  that  his  reputation  is  of  the  worst.  I  have  a  right 
to  warn  you  that  his  companionship  is  dangerous." 

"He  is  a  regular  visitor  at  your  house,"  she  said, 
bridling  a  little. 

"  Yes,  that  is  true,"  replied  Dale,  soberly.  "  How  did 
you  knowP' 

"  I  heard  him  speak  of  it  to  a  guest  he  brought  to 
the  house  where  I  was  living.  I  know  what  you  mean  to 
insinuate." 

Her  mouth  was  drawn,  her  eyes  distended,  her  figure 
in  a  tremble,  as  she  uttered  the  disagreeable  words. 

"Margaret,  my  love!"  he  cried.  "You  do  me  in- 
justice. But  I  ask  just  one  favor.  Let  me  conceal  my- 
self and  hear  what  he  has  to  say.  I  may  fathom  a  man 
like  that  better  than  you.  Give  him  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  with  no  restraint  on  his  tongue,  and  then  make 
some  excuse  to  end  the  interview.  When  he  is  gone  I 
will  tell  you  what  I  think  and  explain  any  doubt  that 
may  still  be  in  your  inind." 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

She  would  not  have  refused  him  had  he  asked  that  she 
place  her  head  on  a  block  and  let  him  try  the  tenderness 
of  her  neck  with  an  axe.  She  was  only  too  glad  to  re- 
move any  doubts  that  he  might  have  concerning  her  re- 
lations with  Mr.  Hayne.  She  threw  open  the  door  of  her 
bedroom,  and  when  he  had  passed  the  threshold  she 
drew  a  screen  across  the  entrance.  Through  this  flimsy 
article  the  concealed  man  could  not  only  hear  but  see. 
Then  she  spoke  to  the  girl  at  the  door  and  said  she 
might  show  Mr.  Hayne  up. 

It  was  the  very  day  that  Gordon  had  made  the  sad 
exhibition  of  himself  with  Mrs.  Dale,  which  Mr.  Brooks 
had  luckily  interrupted.  On  leaving  the  house  the 
young  man  had  gone  forthwith  to  the  address  he  had  ob- 
tained from  Mrs.  Witham,  hoping  that  a  sight  of  the 
mother  and  her  child  might  divert  his  attention  from 
the  ignominious  failure  of  his  long-cherished  projects, 
On  the  way  it  occurred  to  him  that,  Ida  being  lost  for- 
ever, it  might  not  be  a  bad  idea  to  cultivate  the  pretty 
English  widow.  It  would  not  be  a  bad  scheme  to  take 
her  altogether  from  Mr.  Dale  as  a  revenge  on  a  family 
toward  whom  he  had  begun  to  feel  a  wholesale  enmity. 
Mrs.  Taylor,  or  Miss  Eivers,  certainly  must  entertain  a 
sentiment  of  gratitude  toward  him,  a  substantial  basis 
from  which  to  begin  operations. 

Banishing  the  cloud  from  his  face  as  well  as  he  could, 
Gordon  met  Margaret  cordially,  and  soon  felt  quite  at 
home  in  her  little  sitting-room. 

"  Where  is  the  crowning  glory  of  the  establishment  P" 
he  asked,  presently,  looking  about  for  the  baby. 

"  He  is  asleep  on  the  bed  in  the  other  room,"  she  re- 
plied, in  a  low  tone,  "  and  we  must  be  sure  not  to  wake 

him." 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  269 

"  Does  his  father  come  often  to  see  him?"  he  asked, 
abruptly,  and  then  laughed  at  her  evident  discomfiture. 

"  I  told  you,"  she  said,  in  a  dignified  way,  "  that  Mr. 
Taylor  died  on  the  voyage  from  Gibraltar  to  New  York." 

"  I  know  you  did,"  he  answered,  sagely,  "  but  a  letter 
that  you  received  at  Mrs.  Witham's,  and  which  you  fool- 
ishly tore  up  and  threw  into  the  waste-basket  instead  of 
the  fire,  tells  another  story." 

To  the  consternation  of  Miss  Kivers  he  drew  out  the 
letter  as  he  spoke,  pasted  upon  the  panes  of  glass  so  as 
to  be  perfectly  legible. 

It  did  not  occur  to  her  to  taunt  him  with  being  a  spy, 
especially  at  this  moment,  when  the  author  of  those  lines 
was  hidden  behind  a  screen  within  ten  feet  of  him.  She 
was  much  crestfallen,  and  stood,  like  a  detected  culprit, 
waiting  for  him  to  proceed. 

"  I  don't  blame  you,"  he  said,  good-naturedly,  "  for 
your  little  falsehood.  It  was  quite  excusable,  under  the 
circumstances.  But  there  is  something  that  I  ought  to 
say  seriously.  Kingdon  Dale  has  no  right  to  assume  the 
expense  of  your  maintenance  at  this  time.  He  is  already 
too  far  behind  in  a  financial  way.  Why,  the  mortgage  on 
all  his  property  is  more  than  the  whole  thing  is  worth, 
and  the  interest  is  overdue.  I  ought  to  know,  for  I  ad- 
vanced money  to  try  to  save  him,  and  I  shall  have  to 
foreclose  this  week  to  keep  from  losing  what  I  have  in- 
vested." 

The  young  woman  trembled  as  she  listened,  and  pres- 
ently sought  a  chair,  into  which  she  sank  dizzily.  Was 
she  aiding,  after  all,  in  the  ruin  of  the  man  she  loved  so 
well?  There  was  something  in  the  manner  of  Mr. 
Hayne  which  convinced  her  that  there  was  a  foundation 
to  his  story.  And  she  pitied  Kingdon  with  all  her  heart, 


870  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

knowing  that  not  a  word  which  had  been  spoken  had 
escaped  him. 

"  Now,  my  dear,"  pursued  Hayne,  "  I  have  sought 
you  to-day  to  propose  a  more  sensible  arrangement  than 
the  one  under  which  you  are  living.  I  will  furnish  you 
a  handsome  house  and  put  at  your  disposal  a  sum  that 
will  supply  all  the  wants  of  yourself  and  the  little  one. 
I  will  use  you  like  a  lady,  and  in  return  you  will  treat 
me  like  a  genuine  friend.  All  care  for  your  future  will 
vanish.  What  do  you  say?" 

Margaret  wondered  if  the  answer  she  was  about  to 
make  would  seem  to  the  watcher  behind  the  screen  dic- 
tated by  the  knowledge  of  his  presence  there. 

"I  wish  you  would  withdraw  the  question,"  she  an- 
swered, in  a  hushed  tone.  "  I  cannot  treat  it  seriously, 
when  I  remember  that  this  is  the  first  time  you  have 
said  anything  to  bring  a  blush  to  my  cheek." 

He  laughed  aloud. 

"  That  is  amusing,  my  dear,"  he  said,  "  when  one  re- 
members the  experience  through  which  you  have  al- 
readv  passed.  Unless  you  accept  my  offer,  what  will 
you  do?" 

Her  heart  was  beating  rapidly,  partly  out  of  pity  for 
the  desperate  case  of  Mr.  Dale,  till  then  unsuspected  by 
her. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  she  answered,  quietly.  "  I  have 
been  ready  once  before  to  meet  death,  if  necessary,  and  I 
should  not  shrink  from  it  again." 

Hayne  began  to  fear  that  he  was  to  be  beaten  for  the 
second  time  that  day,  and  in  a  quarter  where  he  had 
least  expected  a  rebuff. 

"  Well,  you  have  made  a  nice  mess  for  your  lover!" 
he  replied,  coarsely.  "  His  wife  will  soon  have  him  ia 
court,  with  your  name  as  co-respondent." 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  271 

"  His  wife!"  cried  Margaret.  "  She  does  not  know  of 
my  existence!" 

"  She  did  not  yesterday.  To-day  she  has  seen  the  let- 
ter he  wrote  you.  Yes,  I  showed  it  to  her,"  he  added, 
in  response  to  her  questioning  eyes. 

"  You?    Why  did  you  do  that?" 

"  Because  I  chose.  I  am  like  you;  I  do  things  because 
it  pleases  me.  She  wants  a  divorce,  and  she  has  a  right 
to  one." 

"  But  the  letter,"  said  Margaret,  vaguely,  "  does  not 
refer  to  anything  that  has  happened  since  her  marriage. 
I  have  never  wronged  her  in  thought  or  deed  since  that 
day." 

He  laughed  again,  discordantly. 

"  The  law  does  not  need  actual  proof,"  he  said.  "  The 
letter  shows  that  Kingdon  Dale,  a  married  man,  writes 
to  a  woman  not  his  wife,  protesting  the  most  violent  love 
for  her.  If,  in  addition  to  that,  it  is  proved  that  he 
visits  this  woman  "  (he  said  this  as  a  "  feeler  "  and  her 
start  convinced  him  of  the  correctness  of  his  guess)  "  the 
judge  will  take  the  rest  for  granted." 

She  tried  to  grasp  at  every  possible  straw. 

"But  Mrs.  Dale  would  not  wish  a  separation!"  she 
said.  "  She  could  not!" 

"  Another  error  of  yours,"  he  smiled,  bitterly.  "  She 
is  in  love  with  another  person  herself." 

The  screen  was  thrown  to  the  floor  with  a  crash,  and 
Kingdon  Dale,  trembling  with  anger,  stepped  over  it 
into  the  room. 

"Liar!"  he  shouted,  raising  his  arm  threateningly  at 
the  astonished  man. 

Miss  Rivers  threw  herself  between  them. 

"  Kingdon,"  she  said,  "  think  — think  of  all  he  did  for 


272  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

me!  Mr.  Hayne,"  she  added,  in  tones  of  entreaty, 
"  there  must  be  no  quarrel  between  you  here." 

"Eetract  what  you  said/'  was  Mr.  Dale's  answer  to 
Hayne.  "You  have  calumniated  a  pure  and  virtuous 
woman." 

"  I  retract  it,"  said  Hayne.  "  I  do  so  to  avoid  a  dis- 
agreeable scene  for  this  lady,  who,  of  all  the  people  I 
have  ever  helped,  is  the  only  one  to  exhibit  the  least 
symptom  of  gratitude.  I  was  betrayed  into  saying  more 
than  I  meant.  Hereafter  watch  your  own  household,  if 
you  have  time  enough  from  your  outside  affairs." 

So  saying,  he  took  his  hat,  waved  an  ironical  good-bye 
to  Dale,  cast  a  look  of  regretful  farewell  at  Margaret,  and 
left  the  house. 

The  pair  that  remained  looked  at  each  other  for  some 
seconds  in  silence. 

"  You  believe  me  now,"  said  Margaret,  after  a  while. 
"You  believe  my  words  and  acts  consistent  with  the 
honor  of  your  child's  mother?" 

"  Oh,  yes!"  he  replied,  with  a  deep  sigh.  "  But  about 
Ida!  Could  there  have  been  anything  to  his  assertion?" 

Miss  Eivers  cast  down  her  eyes. 

"  You  love  her,  after  all,  I  see,"  she  murmured,  clasp- 
ing her  hands  over  her  bosom. 

"No!  I  tell  you,  no!  But  I  do  not  want  harm  to 
come  to  her.  She  is  unhappy  enough  now.  If  some  vil- 
lain has  dared — " 

Margaret  caught  him  by  the  sleeve. 

"  Go  home  to  her,"  she  said.  "  Forget  all  that  is  past. 
Remember  your  duty  to  guard  her.  Give  no  man  oc- 
casion to  insult  her.  Go,  Kingdon,  go,  and  think  of  me 
no  more!" 

He  cried  out  with  pain,  saying  she  was  mad — that  no 
^roman  but  her  would  ever  claim  his  love  and  devotion. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  273 

She  then  alluded  to  what  Mr.  Hayne  had  said  about 
his  finances,  and  declared  that  she  would  accept  nothing 
which  made  it  hard  for  him  to  fulfill  his  legitimate  obli- 
gations. 

He  explained  for  answer  the  matter  of  the  Newton 
lands,  saying  that  even  if  they  were  entirely  lost  it  would 
not  affect  his  capacity  to  earn  a  living,  both  for  Ida  and 
for  her.  In  an  hour  he  persuaded  her  to  promise  that 
she  would  for  the  present  remain  where  she  was  and 
trust  him. 

"  And  if  that  f ellbw  Hayne  returns,"  he  said — 

"I  will  give  orders  not  to  let  him  in.  And  yet,  let 
us  remember  always  how  very  kind  he  was  to  me  BO 
long!" 


274  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE  TWO  WIVES  MEET. 

There  are  many  men  who  are  capable,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  passion  or  anger,  of  committing  disreputable 
acts,  and  who  are,  nevertheless,  thoroughly  ashamed  of 
their  conduct  as  soon  as  their  pulses  have  had  time  to 
cool.  When  Gordon  Hayne  reflected  on  the  manner  in 
which  he  had  spent  that  day  he  was  extremely  disgusted 
with  himself.  He  felt  that  he  had  played  the  part  of  a 
coward  and  a  knave,  and  that  two  of  the  best  friends  he 
had  ever  possessed  were  lost  to  him  forever. 

That  night  he  wrote  three  letters.  One  was  to  Mr. 
Dale,  retracting  explicitly  the  charge  he  had  made 
against  his  wife.  One  was  to  Mr.  Brooks,  begging  him  to 
say  nothing  of  the  unhappy  situation  in  which  he  had 
found  Gordon,  and  expressing  the  deepest  regret  at 
the  occurrence.  And  the  third  was  to  Ida,  bidding  her 
farewell,  asking  her  to  forget  the  insane  freak  that  had 
guided  him,  and  assuring  her  that  as  far  as  the  Newton 
land  was  concerned  the  principal  could  remain  for  years, 
if  need  be,  and  that  the  interest  was  a  matter  of  no  ac- 
count whatever. 

He  sent  the  three  letters,  and  then  began  to  wonder 
whether  they  would  do  any  good.  He  knew  that  Dale 
and  his  wife  were  badly  mismated;  that  Kingdon  had  a 
love  for  Miss  Eivers  which  he  was  not  likely  to  outgrow; 
that  Brooks,  hide  it  as  he  might,  would  give  his  very  life 
for  Ida,  and  that  Mrs.  Dale,  only  recently  aware 
of  it,  cared  more  for  Sidney  than  she  had  ever  cared  for 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND.  *:75 

tny  other  person.  A  rearrangement  of  the  ties  of  those 
four  people  could  hardly  fail  to  be  of  benefit  to  all,  if  it 
could  be  accomplished. 

The  more  he  thought  about  it,  the  more  he  wished 
that  he  had  back  the  letters  that  he  had  deposited  in  the 
mail  box.  He  had  written  them  unselfishly,  but  without 
due  consideration.  He  would  have  to  see  more  of  these 
people  in  person,  in  order  to  right  things.  The  one 
most  likely  to  receive  him  politely  was  Margaret.  He 
made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  have  another  and  a  far 
different  interview  with  her. 

Mrs.  Dale  met  her  husband  on  the  evening  of  her  en- 
counter with  Hayne  in  much  the  usual  way.  He  was 
absorbed  in  the  events  of  the  day,  and  more  absent- 
minded  than  ordinarily.  He  knew,  it  is  true,  that  Gor- 
don had  probably  shown  Ida  the  torn  pieces  of  the  letter, 
but  it  was  not  for  the  husband  to  begin  a  conversation 
that  related  to  that  matter.  He  believed  it  would  not  be 
Ida,  either,  who  would  open  the  subject.  As  for  the 
charge  against  his  wife,  his  opinion  was  voiced  in  the 
exclamation  with  which  he  had  met  it,  "  Liar!" 

The  married  existence  of  this  couple  was  not  suffi- 
ciently intimate  to  lead  to  much  conversation.  The 
dinner  was  usually  partaken  of  in  comparative  silence. 
The  evening  paper  took  up  Dale's  time  after  that  until 
callers  appeared  or  he  took  his  stroll  downtown.  At 
bedtime  they  occupied  separate  apartments,  not  even 
very  near  each  other. 

The  day  passed,  and  neither  said  the  slightest  thing 
in  reference  to  what  was  on  both  minds.  But  Ida  was 
not  idle.  She  had  made  up  her  mind  as  to  the  course 
she  would  adopt.  She  meant  to  watch  her  husband,  and 
find  whether  he  went  to  the  house  where  his  "  dearest 


376  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

Margaret  "  lived;  and  if  he  did  so,  she  determined  to  fol- 
low him. 

A  shrewd  woman  does  not  necessarily  need  the  services 
of  a  detective  to  carry  out  a  plan  of  this  kind.  A  man 
who  has  no  reason  to  think  that  he  is  watched  and  no 
particular  fear  of  discovery,  may  be  tracked  with  ease. 
Ida  took  a  car  to  the  neighborhood  of  her  husband's 
office,  at  that  part  of  the  afternoon  when  she  thought 
him  most  likely  to  leave  business.  She  waited  patiently 
till  he  came  out,  and  then  followed  at  a  respectable  dis- 
tance. He  walked  to  Bowdoin  square,  and  took  the  first 
car  that  went  to  Cambridge.  She  took  the  second,  and 
alighted  a  minute  later.  Mr.  Dale  walked  rapidly  toward 
the  house  where  Miss  Rivers  lived,  never  once  turning 
his  head.  His  wife  followed  in  his  wake,  and  in  a  few 
moments  saw  him  enter  a  residence  that  she  had  no 
reason  to  doubt  was  the  one  of  which  she  was  in  search. 

Now,  for  the  first  time,  she  hesitated.  She  had 
learned  nothing  of  Margaret  but  her  given  name.  What 
was  to  meet  her  the  other  side  of  that  door  she  had  only 
a  faint  idea.  She  was  not  over  strong.  She  dreaded 
nothing  more  than  a  collision — with  Kingdon  or  any 
one  else.  But  one  thing  was  perfectly  plain.  She  must 
try  to  see  the  woman  he  loved,  and,  better  than  all  else, 
when  he  was  with  her. 

Summoning  her  courage,  Ida  at  last  went  to  the  bell 
and  rang  it. 

"I  wish  to  see  a  lady  who  boards  here/'  she  stam- 
mered, to  the  servant. 

"  Miss  Rivers?" 

"Yes." 

She  might  be  wrong.  It  was  possible  that  there  were 
two  ladies  boarding  at  the  house,  but  she  must  run  that 
risk. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  S77 

"  Will  you  give  me  your  card?" 

That  course  would  be  suicidal. 

"It  would  be  useless,"  said  Mrs.  Dale.  "She  has 
never  met  me.  Say  it  is  a  lady  who  has  important  busi- 
ness, and  must  see  her  alone." 

Showing  Mrs.  Dale  into  a  parlor,  the  domestic  van- 
ished on  her  errand.  The  description  given  convinced 
Mr.  Dale  at  once  of  the  identity  of  the  caller. 

"  It  is  my  wife!"  he  whispered,  growing  pale. 

"  Show  her  up  at  once,"  said  Margaret,  firmly. 

"Are  you  insane!"  he  cried,  as  the  servant  disap- 
peared. 

"  I  shall  see  her,"  she  responded,  in  a  tone  that  left 
no  room  for  doubt.  "  You  must  step  into  that  bedroom 
and  close  the  door." 

"But — the  baby?"  he  said,  glancing  with  appre- 
hension at  the  child  in  its  crib. 

"  I  shall  leave  him  where  he  is.  This  is  a  critical  mo- 
ment, Kingdon.  You  have  assured  me  that  your  wife 
does  not  love  you;  that  there  is  no  attachment  between 
yon  such  as  should  accompany  the  marriage  tie.  If  that 
is  so,  nothing  she  will  learn  here  will  trouble  us  or  her." 

"  Ah!  You  disbelieve  me!"  he  exclaimed,  clasping  his 
hands  together. 

"No.  I  believe  you,  and  I  love  you.  But  until  I 
p-peak  with  this  lady  I  shall  never  know  exactly  what  my 
duty  is." 

There  was  a  faint  knock  on  the  door,  and  as  he 
stepped  into  the  inner  room,  Margaret  opened  it  to  her 
visitor. 

"  Miss  Rivers?"  said  Ida.    "  Miss  Margaret  Rivers?" 

She  was  very  white  and  short  of  breath. 

"  Yes,"  responded  Margaret.    "  Come  in.    Take  this 


278  THETR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

chair."    She  handed  her  a  rocker,  into  which  Ida  sank. 
"  And  your  name,  I  believe,  is  Mrs.  Dale." 

Surprised,  Ida  responded  in  the  affirmative,  and  then 
there  was  a  moment  of  silence,  during  which  the  tears 
slowly  filled  Mrs.  Dale's  eyes  and  began  to  overflow. 

"I  have  come  to  beg  your  pardon,"  she  said,  in  i 
shaking  voice,  when  she  had  partially  recovered. 

"  My  pardon!"  echoed  the  listener. 

"Yes."  She  glanced  about  the  room,  and  her  eyes 
lit,  for  the  first  time,  on  the  sleeping  baby.  "  Oh!"  she 
cried,  with  a  gasp.  "  Is  it  his  child?  But,  of  course  it 
is.  I  can  see  his  very  features.  I  came,"  she  continued, 
jerkily,  "  to  ask  you  to  forgive  me;  but  I  fear  you  never, 
never  can." 

For  answer  Miss  Rivers  threw  herself  on  the  floor  at 
the  feet  of  her  caller  and  clasped  her  hands  about  her 
knees.  Ida  leaned  over  and  kissed  her  repeatedly  on  her 
dark  hair. 

"  Oh,  you  make  me  so  ashamed!"  cried  Margaret. 
"  But  you  must  hear  my  story.  You  shall  not  condemn 
me  utterly  until  you  know  all." 

Ida  stroked  the  dark  tresses  and  bade  the  suppliant 
figure  rise. 

"  I  do  not  condemn  you,"  she  said,  soothingly.  "  I 
only  condemn  myself.  You  loved  him,  with  all  your 
heart,  I  am  sure;  and  I  was  only  trying  to  satisfy  my 
mother.  You  are  a  holy  being.  That  beautiful  child 
sets  the  seal  of  glory  on  your  forehead.  Tell  me,  did  you 
love  him  very,  very  much?" 

A  gush  of  tears  was  her  only  answer.  Miss  Rivers  was 
too  much  overcome  to  make  a  verbal  reply  at  that  time. 

"How  can  I  ask  such  a  senseless  question?"  pursued 
Mrs.  Dale.  "You  loved  him;  this  mite  of  humanity 
tells  that  without  equivocation.  He  loved  you,  too;  and 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  279 

had  it  not  been  for  the  promise  extracted  from  him  he 
»f  ould  have  been  to-day  what  he  should  be,  your  true  and 
lawful  husband.  I  was  an  ignorant  girl.  I  adore  my 
mother.  I  did  what  she  bade  me,  with  her  assurance 
that  it  would  come  out  right  in  time.  But  it  never  has, 
and  it  never  will  come  out  right.  We  are  living  the 
meanest  of  lies  before  the  world.  He  is  not  my  husband, 
I  am  not  his  wife.  We  are  a  curse  to  each  other,  though 
I  must  say,  in  justice  to  him,  that  he  warned  me  ex- 
plicitly in  advance.  I  know  what  the  world  would 
say,  but  to  me  your  union  with  him  is  a  thousand 
times  more  honorable  than  mine.  He  has  a  noble  heart, 
and  unwittingly  I  tried  to  crush  it.  I  did  not  know,  I 
could  not  understand.  If  I  had  dreamed  that  I  was 
robbing  you,  my  dear  girl,  and  had  known  of  that 
cherub,  my  duty  would  have  been  plainer." 

Miss  Eivers  was  at  last  persuaded  to  rise,  but  she 
would  not  sit  down. 

"I  am  so  ashamed  before  you,"  she  said,  when  she 
could  speak,  "  that  I  do  not  know  what  to  say.  But  you 
shall  have  him  back.  You  are  the  noblest  woman  I  ever 
knew.  I  want  to  tell  you  all  about  it.  Yes,  you  must 
hear  me.  I  beg  it  as  a  great  favor.  I  learned  to  love  Mr. 
Dale  before  I  heard  of  your  existence.  We  were  travel- 
ing together — and — my  father — died.  I  had  no  other 
friend  to  look  to.  One  day  he  told  me — I  know  he 
would  let  me  say  this — that  he  loved  me.  My  heart  gave 
a  great  leap  of  joy.  A  future  seemed  to  open  of  the 
most  surpassing  brightness.  Then  he  began  to  speak  of 
his  engagement  to  a  lady  in  America,  and  I  refused,  ab- 
solutely, to  allow  him  to  say  anything  more  of  his  af- 
fection for  me.  I  told  him  he  must  return  to  America 
and  carry  out  his  promise  to  you.  I  refused,  though  it 
should  break  my  heart,  to  steal  him  from  another  wo- 


280  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

man,  for  I  thought  no  sin  could  equal  that.  It  seemed 
settled  that  we  were  to  part  at  Gibraltar — that  he  would 
return  to  you,  and  that  I  should  bury  my  sorrow  as  best 
I  might  among  strangers.  Oh!  I  was  so  hungry  for  love, 
I  coveted  so  dearly  the  sweetness  of  his  presence. 

"  Let  me  tell  you  everything.  There  is  only  a  little 
more.  I  came  to  America  with  him,  under  an  agree- 
ment to  separate  when  we  arrived,  and  as  soon  as  I  could 
I  ran  away  from  him,  friendless  and  penniless  in  a 
strange  land.  I  meant — oh!  I  swear  it  to  you! — to  ban- 
ish him  from  my  life  forever,  but  an  accident  brought  us 
together  again.  And,  there  is  one  thing  more,  when  I 
learned  that  he  had  been  married  I  hid  my  home  from 
him  till  he  discovered  it  himself;  and  never,  no,  not 
once,  has  he  acted  since  then  in  any  manner  that  my 
dear  mother  in  heaven  might  not  have  looked  down 
upon  without  a  blush  on  her  angel  face!" 

The  tears  of  the  two  women  mingled,  their  arms 
around  each  other's  neck. 

"  You  shall  have  him  entirely  now,"  said  Mrs.  Dale, 
when  she  had  regained  a  little  of  her  composure.  "  Poor 
girl!  You  have  suffered  enough." 

Margaret  shook  her  head. 

"  No.  He  is  yours,"  she  replied.  "  I  have  done  wrong 
to  let  him  call  here;  but — but,  there  was  the — "  She 
pointed  to  the  crib,  whose  little  occupant  began  to  show 
signs  of  wakefulness." 

"  Let  us  call  Mr.  Dale,  and  get  his  opinion,"  said  Ida, 
finally.  She  pointed  to  the  inner  door.  "  He  is  there, 
of  course.  I  saw  him  enter  the  house." 

Margaret  was  startled  at  this  cool  mention  of  a  secret 
that  she  had  been  in  a  tremble  about  ever  since  her 
Tiaitor  entered.  But  she  did  not  know  how  to  better 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  281 

things  by  stopping  Ida  when  the  latter  walked  to  the 
bedroom  door  and  threw  it  open. 

"Kingdon,"  she  said,  gently,  "come  here  and  help 
HB." 

Mr.  Dale  emerged,  with  a  clouded  brow.  He  was 
much  in  fear  of  the  outcome  of  an  interview  between 
these  two  women,  and  as  he  came  into  their  presence  he 
looked  anxiously  from  one  to  the  other. 

"  This  is  your  true  wife,"  said  Ida,  indicating  Miss 
Rivers.  "  Both  she  and  her  lovely  child  have  the  high- 
est claim  upon  you.  I  seem  in  their  presence  a  mere  in- 
terloper, and  I  want  you  to  promise  to  set  them  right." 

"  Do  not  listen!"  cried  Margaret,  wildly.  "  It  is  I  who 
have  committed  the  fault.  Her  claim  is  as  strong  aa 
duty  and  law.  Kingdon,"  she  addressed  him  impressive- 
ly, "we  must  say  good-bye.  Our  later  meetings  have 
been  a  mistake.  When  a  man  is  married  he  should  for- 
get everything  that  comes  between  him  and  his  wife." 

Mrs.  Dale  interrupted. 

"Answer  one  question,"  she  said,  to  her  husband. 
"  What  woman  do  you  love  best  in  all  the  world?" 

He  turned  his  face  to  her,  with  set  lips. 

"  Ida,"  said  he,  "  you  have  asked  me  an  honest  ques- 
tion and  I  will  make  an  honest  reply.  For  you  I  have 
the  friendship  of  my  youth,  the  esteem  of  a  neighbor, 
the  sympathy  of  an  old  associate.  For  Margaret  I  have 
the  passionate  longing  of  a  lover.  My  child  lies  there  in 
its  cradle.  During  all  my  life  I  have  had  such  feelings 
for  no  other  woman.  Eight  or  wrong,  I  shall  love  her 
till  the  end." 

Miss  Rivers  essayed  to  stop  the  flow  of  his  impassioned 
words,  but  her  effort  was  of  no  avail.  Mrs.  Dale  smiled 
angelically,  and,  now,  perfectly  calm,  took  the  hand  of 
the  English  girl  and  placed  it  in  that  of  her  husband. 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

"  God  hath  joined  you,"  she  said.  "  Neither  man  nor 
woman  should  put  you  asunder." 

She  reached  down  and  lifted  the  babe  from  its  cradle. 
With  wide-open  eyes  the  little  fellow  crowed  joyfully, 
and  put  out  his  arms  for  Margaret,  who  took  him  and 
let  him  nestle  against  her  bosom. 

"There  are  things  necessary  for  right  procedure  in 
human  society,"  continued  Mrs.  Dale,  deliberately. 
"Kingdon,  you  must  get  a  divorce,  or  allow  me  to  do  so. 
The  most  polite  reason  to  allege  is  desertion.  You  are 
going  to  New  York  soon,  I  hear,  on  business.  When 
you  take  your  trunks  from  the  flat  where  we  live  you 
must  never  return  there.  After  a  certain  time  the  court 
can  be  asked  to  remedy  our  fearful  error.  Then  you 
will  let  the  law  do  what  it  should  have  done  long  ago, 
and  begin  life  again  with  the  woman  you  love  and  the 
child  who  has  a  right  to  your  care  and  fatherly  over- 
sight. As  for  me,"  she  added,  in  a  lower  voice,  "  do  not 
think  I  shall  regret  the  step.  It  is  never  too  late  to  do 
right.  You  know  very  well,  Kingdon,  that  I  have  never 
been  in  love  with  you.  For  your  kindness,  your  con- 
sideration, both  to  me  and  my  poor  mamma,  I  shall  bless 
you  always.  It  is  better  for  all  that  this  separation  take 
a  legal  and  permanent  form.  My  greatest  wish  is  that 
you  may  be  happy  with  this  dear  girl.  Do  not  speak, 
please,  till  I  am  gone.  Good-bye." 

She  took  Margaret's  cheeks  between  her  hands  and 
pressed  three  warm  kisses  on  her  forehead.  Then  Miss 
Rivers  cried  out: 

"  Angel,  saint!  How  can  I  accept  such  a  great  boon 
from  you?*' 

"  Fear  nothing,"  replied  Mrs.  Dale.  "  It  may  prove  a 
boon  to  me  as  well.  If  this  rearrangement  comes  a  little 
late,  it  may  bring  happiness,  nevertheless." 


THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND, 

She  touched  the  child,  still  nestling  in  hit  mother's 
arms. 

"  May  I  kiss  him?"  she  asked. 

Margaret  lifted  him  up  to  her,  and  a  warm  caress  was 
imprinted  on  the  little  cheek. 

"  What  is  his  name?" 

"  I — I  have  not  named  him,  yet,"  said  Margaret. 

"  Call  him  Kingdon.  It  will  please  me  very  much. 
And,  some  day,  if  you  have  the  happiness  to  have  a  girl 
child,  call  her  Ida.  I  shall  think  it  the  highest  of  com- 
pliments. Now,  good-bye.  Don't  try  to  stop  me.  King- 
don, be  good  to  this  dear  little  woman,  and  thank  God 
that  He  gave  you  such  a  treasure." 

She  was  gone.  The  baby  looked  after  her,  wonder- 
ing what  had  become  of  the  blonde  head  that  made  such 
a  light  in  the  room.  Margaret  fell  on  her  knees  by  the 
chair  in  which  Ida  had  sat,  sprinkling  it  with  her  tears. 
And  Kingdon  Dale,  his  heart  full  of  gratitude,  buried 
his  face  in  his  hands  and  wept  also. 


284:  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 


CHAPTEE  XXX. 

"  WHEN  DID  YOU  BEGIN  TO  LOVE  ME?" 

There  was  business  for  Mr.  Dale  in  New  York,  and  it 
was  the  desire  of  his  firm  that  he  should  spend  as  much 
time  there  hereafter  as  possible.  The  necessity  of  ab- 
senting himself  from  his  wife  brought  this  duty  at  an 
opportune  time.  He  made  arrangements  to  give  up  his 
residence  in  Boston,  doing  all  of  those  petty  and  dis- 
agreeable things  which  the  law  demands  of  a  man  who 
ceases  to  fill  the  position  of  a  husband  with  a  view  to 
final  separation  under  the  seal  of  a  court.  He  notified 
his  landlord,  for  one  thing,  that  he  should  surrender  his 
flat  on  a  given  date.  Ida  packed  up  and  went  to  live 
again  in  Newton,  with  her  mother.  To  Mrs.  Bruce's 
inquiries  the  young  wife  returned  the  briefest  replies. 

"I  have  taken  your  advice  once  in  these  matters, 
mamma,  and  made  a  great  failure  of  it.  This  time  I 
must  act  on  my  own  judgment.  Kingdon  and  I  have  not 
quarreled.  We  are  never  going  to  live  together  again, 
that's  all.  Don't  talk  to  me  about  it,  or  on  any  account 
to  any  one  else." 

And  poor,  crushed  Mrs.  Bruce  fell  into  the  plan,  for 
want  of  anything  else  to  do.  This  little  daughter  of 
hers  had  suddenly  become  the  bigger  woman  in  strength 
of  mind. 

"  "We  shall  all  be  happy,  mamma,  by  and  by,"  said  Ida, 
soothingly.  "  Wait,  have  patience,  and  you  will  see." 

While  anxious  to  preserve  appearances,  Mr.  Dale  was 
not  willing  to  be  separated  entirely  from  his  Margaret 


THEIR   MARRIAGE  BOND.  285 

and  his  child.  They  removed  to  one  of  the  suburbs  of 
New  York,  where  he  visited  them  at  regular  intervals. 
There  was  a  long  time  to  wait,  according  to  the  Massa- 
chusetts laws,  quite  three  years,  and  he  thought  this  no 
more  than  he  had  a  right  to  do. 

For  several  months  Margaret  argued  the  matter  over 
with  him  every  time  he  called.  She  had  no  right,  she 
said,  to  take  him  from  that  lovely  woman  who  had 
offered  her  such  kindness.  But  one  day,  after  a  trip  to 
Boston,  he  whispered  something  in  her  ear  that  made 
her  start. 

"  Oh,  if  you  are  certain  of  that!"  she  exclaimed.  "  It 
would  make  me  feel  so  much  better  about  it.  Are  you 
sure  there  is  no  doubt?" 

Things  began  to  resume  the  even  tenor  of  their  way. 
During  the  succeeding  year  two  events  worth  recording 
came  to  the  people  in  whom  the  reader  is  interested. 
One  was  the  sale  to  the  Newton  Boulevard  Company  of 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  land  owned  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dale.  The  sale  did  not  in  either  case  include  the 
homes,  nor  the  nearest  land  about  them.  Mr.  Brooks 
negotiated  the  transaction,  and  at  the  request  of  the 
owners  paid  off  the  mortgage  held  by  Gordon  Hayne. 

"  I'll  have  to  take  the  money,  I  suppose,"  said  Hayne, 
"  but  I'd  much  rather  let  it  lie.  Of  course,  the  security 
was  ample."  Then  he  added,  to  himself,  "  I'll  write  to 
Ida,  and  try  to  square  myself.  Kingdon  doesn't  come 
home  any  more,  they  say.  The  most  I  can  expect  now  is 
to  regain  a  little  of  her  good  opinion;  and  much  good 
that  will  do  me,  confound  it!" 

There  was  over  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  left  out  of 
the  sale  after  settling  the  indebtedness,  and  Mr.  Brooks 
wrote  to  Mr.  Dale  a  formal,  business  letter,  asking  what 
he  should  do  with  it. 


280  THEIR   MARRIAGE   BOND. 

"Give  it  to  Ida,"  was  Kingdon's  reply.  "She  will 
need  it/' 

Then  Mr.  Brooks  wrote  to  Ida,  asking  the  same  ques- 
tion. 

"  Give  it  to  Kingdon,"  she  answered.  "  It  will  help 
him  in  his  business." 

It  was  finally  arranged  that  the  sum  should  be  divided 
on  the  exact  lines  of  the  original  ownership.  As  Mrs. 
Dale's  estate  was  the  larger,  the  larger  sum  went  ac- 
cordingly to  her. 

Mrs.  Bruce  brightened  at  the  news.  The  home  in 
which  she  lived  was  now  secure,  and  the  money  removed 
her  and  her  daughter  from  the  danger  of  want.  It  was 
no  more,  she  said,  than  right  to  have  the  sum  divided 
thus.  Mr.  Dale  had  deserted  her  daughter  without  just 
cause,  and  the  least  he  could  do  was  to  secure  her  mate- 
rial welfare. 

The  legal  time  had  hardly  expired  when  Mrs.  Dale 
filed  her  papers,  asking  for  a  divorce.  She  had  sent 
in  the  first  place  for  Mr.  Brooks  and  asked  him  to  attend 
to  the  matter,  but  he  replied,  almost  brusquely,  that  he 
could  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  When  pressed  for  a 
reason  he  showed  a  communication,  recently  received 
from  the  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth,  tendering  him 
a  Superior  Court  judgeship,  which  he  said  he  had  con- 
cluded to  accept.  This  would  prevent  him  taking  any 
matters  of  this  kind.  Could  he  recommend  any  one? 
No,  but  almost  any  reputable  attorney  would  do. 

"It  will  be  uncontested,"  said  Ida,  looking  at  him 
wistfully. 

He  did  not  reply.  A  sadness  spread  over  his  brow. 
When  he  next  spoke  it  was  of  other  things,  and  his 
voice  was  husky. 

Mr.  Hayae  read  the  decree  in  a  newspaper  when  he 


THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND.  187 

was  at  breakfast,  and  pushed  his  coffee  and  eggs  away. 
His  appetite  ^as  gone. 

Kingdon  did  not  wait  an  unnecessary  time  before  se- 
curing a  legal  sanction  to  his  union  with  Margaret.  The 
years  he  had  been  obliged  to  wait  seemed  endless,  and 
yet  the  end  came.  He  took  her  to  his  heart  and  home, 
and  began  again  to  know  what  happiness  meant. 

Before  that  day  Margaret  had  received  a  letter  from 
Ida,  couched  in  the  dearest  and  most  affectionate  terms. 
It  begged  her  not  to  let  any  fantastic  scruples  come  in 
the  way  of  taking  the  position  that  belonged  to  her  and 
to  her  boy. 

"Do  not  imagine  that  I  am  unhappy,"  Ida  added. 
"A  union  that  never  was  what  it  professed  to  be  hai 
been  severed,  and  I  am  like  a  bird  freed  from  its  cage. 
Let  me  hear  from  you  often,  and  some  day  we  must  meet 
and  kiss  each  other  again.  For  I  love  you,  dear  girl, 
with  all  my  heart." 

As  she  had  no  child  to  complicate  the  situation,  Ida 
secured  from  the  court  the  privilege  of  resuming  her 
maiden  name.  And  it  did  not  wholly  surprise  some  of 
the  persons  in  this  drama  when,  about  a  year  after  her 
divorce,  an  announcement  appeared  in  the  daily  papers 
of  the  marriage  of  "  Judge  Sidney  Brooks,  of  the  Supe- 
rior Court,  to  Miss  Ida  Bruce  of  Newton." 

"  When  did  you  begin  to  love  me?"  Ida  asked  of  her 
new  husband  the  day  after  the  wedding. 

"  I  hardly  know,"  he  said.  "  There  had  been  in  my 
mind  the  dream  of  such  a  being  before  we  met.  When 
I  saw  you  in  your  mother's  parlor  I  recognized  the  wo- 
man of  my  aspirations,  only  to  be  told  that  you  were 
destined  for  another.  What  a  joy,  after  I  had  resigned 
myself  to  perpetual  bachelorhood,  to  find  you  clasped  in 
my  arms  at  last!" 


388  THEIR  MARRIAGE  BOND. 

The  next  spring  Ida  heard  news  from  the  present  Mrs. 
Dale. 

"  We  have  a  new  baby,"  she  wrote,  with  the  faltering 
hand  of  a  convalescing  mother,  "  and  we  have  named  her 
'  Ida  Bruce  Dale.'  My  only  prayer  is  that  she  may  be 
as  pure,  as  true,  as  noble,  as  her  loved  and  honored 
namesake.  Kingdon  sends  his  best  wishes  to  you  and  to 
your  husband." 

And  then,  with  the  certainty  of  a  woman,  she  wrote 
her  "  P.  S.": 

"Master  Kingdon  Leonard  Eivers  Dale,  who  stands 
at  my  side,  has  learned  that  I  am  writing  to  '  That  pret- 
ty, pretty,  pretty  lady,  whose  picture  is  always  on  mam- 
ma's table,'  and  insists  on  sending  '  tree  miU'on  kisses ' 
for  his  own  self." 

Her  husband  picked  up  the  letter  and  read  it  through. 

"What  a  lot  of  nonsense  you  women  write  to  each 
other!"  he  ejaculated,  with  thick  voice;  and  the  new 
baby,  over  whose  little  form  he  leaned,  with  averted 
head,  Uinked  at  the  drops  of  water  that  fell  on  its  tiny 
face. 


THE  END. 


A     000  034  087     7 


